Compare Solomon Islands (2005) - Tonga (2006)

Compare Solomon Islands (2005) z Tonga (2006)

	Solomon Islands (2005)	Tonga (2006)

Administrative divisions	9 provinces and 1 capital territory; Central, Choiseul, Guadalcanal, Honiara, Isabel, Makira, Malaita, Rennell and Bellona, Temotu, Western	3 island groups; Ha'apai, Tongatapu, Vava'u
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: 35.3% (male 20,679/female 19,843) 15-64 years: 60.5% (male 34,399/female 34,964) 65 years and over: 4.2% (male 2,059/female 2,745) (2006 est.)
Agriculture - products	cocoa beans, coconuts, palm kernels, rice, potatoes, vegetables, fruit; cattle, pigs; timber; fish	squash, coconuts, copra, bananas, vanilla beans, cocoa, coffee, ginger, black pepper; fish
Airports	33 (2004 est.)	6 (2006)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2004 est.)	total: 1 2,438 to 3,047 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.)	total: 5 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 1 (2006)
Area	total: 28,450 sq km land: 27,540 sq km water: 910 sq km	total: 748 sq km land: 718 sq km water: 30 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than Maryland	four 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.	Tonga - unique among Pacific nations - never completely lost its indigenous governance. The archipelagos of "The Friendly Islands" were united into a Polynesian kingdom in 1845. Tonga became a constitutional monarchy in 1875 and a British protectorate in 1900; it withdrew from the protectorate and joined the Commonwealth of Nations in 1970. Tonga remains the only monarchy in the Pacific.
Birth rate	30.74 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)	25.37 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Budget	revenues: $49.7 million expenditures: $75.1 million, including capital expenditures of $0 (2003)	revenues: $56.97 million expenditures: $83.88 million; including capital expenditures of $1.9 million (FY99/00 est.)
Capital	Honiara	name: Nuku'alofa geographic coordinates: 21 08 S, 175 12 W time difference: UTC+13 (18 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Climate	tropical monsoon; few extremes of temperature and weather	tropical; modified by trade winds; warm season (December to May), cool season (May to December)
Coastline	5,313 km	419 km
Constitution	7 July 1978	4 November 1875; revised 1 January 1967
Country name	conventional long form: none conventional short form: Solomon Islands former: British Solomon Islands	conventional long form: Kingdom of Tonga conventional short form: Tonga local long form: Pule'anga Tonga local short form: Tonga former: Friendly Islands
Death rate	3.98 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)	5.28 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Debt - external	$180.4 million (2002)	$80.7 million (2004)
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	the US does not have an embassy in Tonga; the ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Tonga
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 Fekitamoeloa 'UTOIKAMANU chancery: 250 East 51st Street, New York, NY 10022 telephone: [1] (917) 369-1025 FAX: [1] (917) 369-1024 consulate(s) general: San Francisco
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.)	$19.3 million Australia $5.5 million, New Zealand $2.3 million (FY01/02)
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.	Tonga, a small, open, South Pacific island economy, has a narrow export base in agricultural goods. Squash, coconuts, bananas, and vanilla beans are the main crops, and agricultural exports make up two-thirds of total exports. The country must import a high proportion of its food, mainly from New Zealand. The country remains dependent on external aid and remittances from Tongan communities overseas to offset its trade deficit. Tourism is the second-largest source of hard currency earnings following remittances. The government is emphasizing the development of the private sector, especially the encouragement of investment, and is committing increased funds for health and education. Tonga has a reasonably sound basic infrastructure and well-developed social services. High unemployment among the young, a continuing upturn in inflation, pressures for democratic reform, and rising civil service expenditures are major issues facing the government.
Electricity - consumption	29.76 million kWh (2002)	31.62 million kWh (2003)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2002)	0 kWh (2003)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2002)	0 kWh (2003)
Electricity - production	32 million kWh (2002)	34 million kWh (2003)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Makarakomburu 2,447 m	lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location on Kao Island 1,033 m
Environment - current issues	deforestation; soil erosion; many of the surrounding coral reefs are dead or dying	deforestation results as more and more land is being cleared for agriculture and settlement; some damage to coral reefs from starfish and indiscriminate coral and shell collectors; overhunting threatens native sea turtle populations
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, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution 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)	Polynesian, Europeans
Exchange rates	Solomon Islands dollars per US dollar - 7.4847 (2004), 7.5059 (2003), 6.7488 (2002), 5.278 (2001), 5.0889 (2000)	pa'anga per US dollar - 1.96 (2005), 1.9716 (2004), 2.142 (2003), 2.1952 (2002), 2.1236 (2001)
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: King George TUPOU V (since 11 September 2006) head of government: Prime Minister Dr. Feleti SEVELE (since 11 February 2006); Deputy Prime Minister Dr. Viliami TANGI (since 16 May 2006) cabinet: Cabinet currently consists of 14 members, 10 appointed by the monarch for life; 4 appointed from among the elected members of the Legislative Assembly, including 2 each from the nobles and peoples representatives serving three year terms note: there is also a Privy Council that consists of the monarch, the cabinet, and two governors elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed by the monarch
Exports	NA	NA bbl/day
Exports - commodities	timber, fish, copra, palm oil, cocoa	squash, fish, vanilla beans, root crops
Exports - partners	China 27.8%, South Korea 17.1%, Thailand 15.7%, Japan 9.7%, Philippines 4.8% (2004)	Japan 41.5%, US 33.1%, NZ 6.3% (2005)
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	red with a bold red cross on a white rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 42% industry: 11% services: 47% (2000 est.)	agriculture: 23% industry: 27% services: 50% (FY03/04 est.)
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2002 est.)	-
GDP - real growth rate	5.8% (2003 est.)	2.4% (2005 est.)
Geographic coordinates	8 00 S, 159 00 E	20 00 S, 175 00 W
Geography - note	strategic location on sea routes between the South Pacific Ocean, the Solomon Sea, and the Coral Sea	archipelago of 169 islands (36 inhabited)
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 bbl/day
Imports - commodities	food, plant and equipment, manufactured goods, fuels, chemicals	foodstuffs, machinery and transport equipment, fuels, chemicals
Imports - partners	Australia 24.6%, Singapore 23.1%, New Zealand 7.7%, Fiji 4.8%, Papua New Guinea 4.7% (2004)	NZ 33.4%, Fiji 26.7%, Australia 10.5%, US 8.4% (2005)
Independence	7 July 1978 (from UK)	4 June 1970 (from UK protectorate)
Industrial production growth rate	NA	1% (2003 est.)
Industries	fish (tuna), mining, timber	tourism, fishing
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: 12.3 deaths/1,000 live births male: 13.63 deaths/1,000 live births female: 10.91 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	10% (2003 est.)	11.1% (2005 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, AsDB, C, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)
Irrigated land	NA	NA
Judicial branch	Court of Appeal	Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the monarch); Court of Appeal (Chief Justice and high court justices from overseas chosen and approved by Privy Council)
Labor force	26,840 (1999)	33,910 (2003)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture 75%, industry 5%, services 20% (2000 est.)	agriculture: 65% industry and services: 35% (1997 est.)
Land boundaries	0 km	0 km
Land use	arable land: 0.64% permanent crops: 2% other: 97.36% (2001)	arable land: 20% permanent crops: 14.67% other: 65.33% (2005)
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	Tongan, English
Legal system	English common law, which is widely disregarded	based on 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 Assembly or Fale Alea (32 seats - 14 reserved for cabinet ministers sitting ex officio, 9 for nobles selected by the country's 33 nobles, and 9 elected by popular vote; members serve three-year terms) elections: last held 21 March 2005 (next to be held in 2008) election results: Peoples Representatives: percent of vote - HRDMT 70%; seats - HRDMT 7, independents 2
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 72.66 years male: 70.16 years female: 75.28 years (2005 est.)	total population: 69.82 years male: 67.32 years female: 72.45 years (2006 est.)
Literacy	definition: NA total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA%	definition: can read and write Tongan and/or English total population: 98.9% male: 98.8% female: 99% (1999 est.)
Location	Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Papua New Guinea	Oceania, archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, about two-thirds of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand
Map references	Oceania	Oceania
Maritime claims	measured from claimed archipelagic baselines territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
Merchant marine	-	total: 16 ships (1000 GRT or over) 62,185 GRT/72,960 DWT by type: bulk carrier 1, cargo 10, liquefied gas 1, livestock carrier 1, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 1, refrigerated cargo 1 foreign-owned: 4 (Australia 1, Norway 1, Switzerland 1, UK 1) (2006)
Military branches	no regular military forces; Royal Solomon Islands Police (RSIP)	Tonga Defense Services: Land Force (Royal Guard), Naval Force (includes Royal Marines, Air Wing) (2006)
Military expenditures - dollar figure	NA	NA
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	NA	NA
National holiday	Independence Day, 7 July (1978)	Emancipation Day, 4 June (1970)
Nationality	noun: Solomon Islander(s) adjective: Solomon Islander	noun: Tongan(s) adjective: Tongan
Natural hazards	typhoons, but rarely destructive; geologically active region with frequent earth tremors; volcanic activity	cyclones (October to April); earthquakes and volcanic activity on Fonuafo'ou
Natural resources	fish, forests, gold, bauxite, phosphates, lead, zinc, nickel	fish, fertile soil
Net migration rate	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)	0 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	People's Democratic Party [Tesina FUKO]
Political pressure groups and leaders	NA	Human Rights and Democracy Movement Tonga or HRDMT [Rev. Simote VEA, chairman]; Public Servant's Association [Finau TUTONE]
Population	538,032 (July 2005 est.)	114,689 (July 2006 est.)
Population below poverty line	NA	24% NA%
Population growth rate	2.68% (2005 est.)	2.01% (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 4, shortwave 1 (2004)
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)	Christian (Free Wesleyan Church claims over 30,000 adherents)
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: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2006 est.)
Suffrage	21 years of age; universal	21 years of age; universal
Telephone system	general assessment: NA domestic: NA international: country code - 677; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)	general assessment: competition between Tonga Telecommunications Corporation (TCC) and Shoreline Communications Tonga (SCT) is accelerating expansion of telecommunications; SCT recently granted authority to develop high-speed digital service for telephone, Internet, and television domestic: fully automatic switched network international: country code - 676; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) (2004)
Telephones - main lines in use	6,600 (2002)	11,200 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular	1,000 (2002)	16,400 (2004)
Television broadcast stations	-	3 (2004)
Terrain	mostly rugged mountains with some low coral atolls	most islands have limestone base formed from uplifted coral formation; others have limestone overlying volcanic base
Total fertility rate	4.04 children born/woman (2005 est.)	3 children born/woman (2006 est.)
Unemployment rate	NA%	13% (FY03/04 est.)

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