Solomon Islands (2005) | Guernsey (2006) | |
![]() | ![]() | |
Administrative divisions | 9 provinces and 1 capital territory*; Central, Choiseul, Guadalcanal, Honiara*, Isabel, Makira, Malaita, Rennell and Bellona, Temotu, Western | none (British crown dependency); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 10 parishes including Castel, Forest, Saint Andrew, Saint Martin, Saint Peter Port, Saint Pierre du Bois, Saint Sampson, Saint Saviour, Torteval, Vale |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 41.9% (male 114,860/female 110,404)
15-64 years: 54.9% (male 149,400/female 145,970) 65 years and over: 3.2% (male 8,371/female 9,027) (2005 est.) |
0-14 years: 15% (male 4,998/female 4,842)
15-64 years: 67.1% (male 21,752/female 22,170) 65 years and over: 17.8% (male 4,926/female 6,721) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cocoa beans, coconuts, palm kernels, rice, potatoes, vegetables, fruit; cattle, pigs; timber; fish | tomatoes, greenhouse flowers, sweet peppers, eggplant, fruit; Guernsey cattle |
Airports | 33 (2004 est.) | 2 (one on Alderney) (2006) |
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 (2006) |
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.) |
- |
Area | total: 28,450 sq km
land: 27,540 sq km water: 910 sq km |
total: 78 sq km
land: 78 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Alderney, Guernsey, Herm, Sark, and some other smaller islands |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maryland | about one-half 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. | The island of Guernsey and the other Channel Islands represent the last remnants of the medieval Dukedom of Normandy, which held sway in both France and England. The islands were the only British soil occupied by German troops in World War II. Guernsey is a British crown dependency, but is not part of the UK. |
Birth rate | 30.74 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 8.81 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $49.7 million
expenditures: $75.1 million, including capital expenditures of $0 (2003) |
revenues: $539.2 million
expenditures: $448.3 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (2002) |
Capital | Honiara | name: Saint Peter Port
geographic coordinates: 49 27 N, 2 32 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
Climate | tropical monsoon; few extremes of temperature and weather | temperate with mild winters and cool summers; about 50% of days are overcast |
Coastline | 5,313 km | 50 km |
Constitution | 7 July 1978 | unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and practice |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Solomon Islands former: British Solomon Islands |
conventional long form: Bailiwick of Guernsey
conventional short form: Guernsey |
Death rate | 3.98 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 10.01 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $180.4 million (2002) | $NA |
Dependency status | - | British crown dependency |
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 | none (British crown dependency) |
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 (British crown dependency) |
Disputes - international | Australian Defense Force leads the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI) at the invitation of the Solomon Islands' Government to maintain civil and political order and reinforce regional security | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $28 million annually, mainly from Australia (2003 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. Prior to the arrival of the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI), severe ethnic violence, the closing of key businesses, and an empty government treasury culminated in economic collapse. RAMSI has enabled a return to law and order, a new period of economic stability, and modest growth as the economy rebuilds. | Financial services - banking, fund management, insurance - account for about 55% of total income in this tiny, prosperous Channel Island economy. Tourism, manufacturing, and horticulture, mainly tomatoes and cut flowers, have been declining. Light tax and death duties make Guernsey a popular tax haven. The evolving economic integration of the EU nations is changing the environment under which Guernsey operates. |
Electricity - consumption | 29.76 million kWh (2002) | NA kWh |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 32 million kWh (2002) | NA kWh |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Makarakomburu 2,447 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Sark 114 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion; many of the surrounding coral reefs are dead or dying | NA |
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 94.5%, Polynesian 3%, Micronesian 1.2%, other 1.1%, unspecified 0.2% (1999 census) | UK and Norman-French descent with small percentages from other European countries |
Exchange rates | Solomon Islands dollars per US dollar - 7.4847 (2004), 7.5059 (2003), 6.7488 (2002), 5.278 (2001), 5.0889 (2000) | Guernsey pounds per US dollar - 0.55 (2005), 0.5462 (2004), 0.6125 (2003), 0.6672 (2002), 0.6947 (2001)
note: the Guernsey pound is at par with the British pound |
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 Lieutenant Governor Sir Fabian MALBON (since 28 October 2005)
head of government: Chief Minister Laurie MORGAN (since 1 May 2004) cabinet: Policy Council elected by the States of Deliberation elections: the monarch is hereditary; lieutenant governor appointed by the monarch; chief minister is elected by States of Delibertion election results: Laurie MORGAN elected chief minister, percent of vote of the States of Deliberation NA |
Exports | NA | $NA |
Exports - commodities | timber, fish, copra, palm oil, cocoa | tomatoes, flowers and ferns, sweet peppers, eggplant, other vegetables |
Exports - partners | China 27.8%, South Korea 17.1%, Thailand 15.7%, Japan 9.7%, Philippines 4.8% (2004) | UK; note - regarded as internal trade (2004) |
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 | white with the red cross of Saint George (patron saint of England) extending to the edges of the flag and a yellow equal-armed cross of William the Conqueror superimposed on the Saint George cross |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 42%
industry: 11% services: 47% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 3%
industry: 10% services: 87% (2000) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2002 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 5.8% (2003 est.) | 3% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 8 00 S, 159 00 E | 49 28 N, 2 35 W |
Geography - note | strategic location on sea routes between the South Pacific Ocean, the Solomon Sea, and the Coral Sea | large, deepwater harbor at Saint Peter Port |
Government - note | June 2003 Prime Minister Sir Allan 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. By the end of 2004 the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI) had been scaled back to 302 police officers and 120 military in addition to civilian technical advisors. | - |
Highways | total: 1,360 km
paved: 34 km unpaved: 1,326 km (1999 est.) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | NA | $NA |
Imports - commodities | food, plant and equipment, manufactured goods, fuels, chemicals | coal, gasoline, oil, machinery and equipment |
Imports - partners | Australia 24.6%, Singapore 23.1%, New Zealand 7.7%, Fiji 4.8%, Papua New Guinea 4.7% (2004) | UK; note - regarded as internal trade (2004) |
Independence | 7 July 1978 (from UK) | none (British crown dependency) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | NA% |
Industries | fish (tuna), mining, timber | tourism, banking |
Infant mortality rate | total: 21.29 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 24.27 deaths/1,000 live births female: 18.17 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
total: 4.65 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 5.19 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.08 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 10% (2003 est.) | 4.9% (2004 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 | UPU |
Irrigated land | NA | NA |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeal | Royal Court |
Labor force | 26,840 (1999) | 32,290 (2001) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 75%, industry 5%, services 20% (2000 est.) | - |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land: 0.64%
permanent crops: 2% other: 97.36% (2001) |
arable land: NA%
permanent crops: NA% other: NA% |
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, French, Norman-French dialect spoken in country districts |
Legal system | English common law, which is widely disregarded | English law and local statutes; justice is administered by the Royal Court |
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 States of Deliberation (45 seats; members are elected by popular vote for four years); note - Alderney and Sark have their own parliaments
elections: last held 21 April 2004 (next to be held in 2008) election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - all independents |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 72.66 years
male: 70.16 years female: 75.28 years (2005 est.) |
total population: 80.42 years
male: 77.41 years female: 83.53 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | definition: NA
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: NA
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Papua New Guinea | Western Europe, islands in the English Channel, northwest of France |
Map references | Oceania | Europe |
Maritime claims | measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm |
territorial sea: 3 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 12 nm |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the UK |
Military branches | no regular military forces; Royal Solomon Islands Police (RSIP) | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | NA | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 7 July (1978) | Liberation Day, 9 May (1945) |
Nationality | noun: Solomon Islander(s)
adjective: Solomon Islander |
noun: Channel Islander(s)
adjective: Channel Islander |
Natural hazards | typhoons, but rarely destructive; geologically active region with frequent earth tremors; volcanic activity | NA |
Natural resources | fish, forests, gold, bauxite, phosphates, lead, zinc, nickel | cropland |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 3.82 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 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 |
none; all independents |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | none |
Population | 538,032 (July 2005 est.) | 65,409 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.68% (2005 est.) | 0.26% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Honiara, Malloco Bay, Shortland Harbor, Viru Harbor, Yandina | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 1 (2004) | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Religions | Church of Melanesia 32.8%, Roman Catholic 19%, South Seas Evangelical 17%, Seventh-Day Adventist 11.2%, United Church 10.3%, Christian Fellowship Church 2.4%, other Christian 4.4%, other 2.4%, unspecified 0.3%, none 0.2% (1999 census) | Anglican, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Baptist, Congregational, Methodist |
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 (2005 est.) |
at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.73 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2006 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: NA
domestic: NA international: 1 submarine cable |
Telephones - main lines in use | 6,600 (2002) | 55,100 (2004) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1,000 (2002) | 43,800 (2004) |
Television broadcast stations | - | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | mostly rugged mountains with some low coral atolls | mostly level with low hills in southwest |
Total fertility rate | 4.04 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 1.39 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 0.5% (1999 est.) |