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Compare Solomon Islands (2006) - Jamaica (2008)
Compare Solomon Islands (2006) z Jamaica (2008)
| Solomon Islands (2006) | Jamaica (2008) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 9 provinces and 1 capital territory*; Central, Choiseul, Guadalcanal, Honiara*, Isabel, Makira, Malaita, Rennell and Bellona, Temotu, Western | 14 parishes; Clarendon, Hanover, Kingston, Manchester, Portland, Saint Andrew, Saint Ann, Saint Catherine, Saint Elizabeth, Saint James, Saint Mary, Saint Thomas, Trelawny, Westmoreland
note: for local government purposes, Kingston and Saint Andrew were amalgamated in 1923 into the present single corporate body known as the Kingston and Saint Andrew Corporation |
| Age structure | 0-14 years: 41.3% (male 116,370/female 111,834)
15-64 years: 55.4% (male 154,793/female 151,308) 65 years and over: 3.3% (male 8,696/female 9,437) (2006 est.) |
0-14 years: 32.5% (male 459,968/female 444,963)
15-64 years: 60.1% (male 822,486/female 848,310) 65 years and over: 7.4% (male 91,856/female 112,549) (2007 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | cocoa beans, coconuts, palm kernels, rice, potatoes, vegetables, fruit; timber; cattle, pigs; fish | sugarcane, bananas, coffee, citrus, yams, ackees, vegetables; poultry, goats, milk; crustaceans, mollusks |
| Airports | 35 (2006) | 34 (2007) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2006) |
total: 11
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 5 (2007) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 33
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 9 under 914 m: 23 (2006) |
total: 23
914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 21 (2007) |
| Area | total: 28,450 sq km
land: 27,540 sq km water: 910 sq km |
total: 10,991 sq km
land: 10,831 sq km water: 160 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maryland | slightly smaller than Connecticut |
| Background | The UK established a protectorate over the Solomon Islands in the 1890s. Some of the bitterest fighting of World War II occurred on this archipelago. 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 - discovered by Christopher COLUMBUS in 1494 - was settled by the Spanish early in the 16th century. The native Taino Indians, who had inhabited Jamaica for centuries, were gradually exterminated and replaced by African slaves. England seized the island in 1655 and established a plantation economy based on sugar, cocoa, and coffee. The abolition of slavery in 1834 freed a quarter million slaves, many of whom became small farmers. Jamaica gradually obtained increasing independence from Britain, and in 1958 it joined other British Caribbean colonies in forming the Federation of the West Indies. Jamaica gained full independence when it withdrew from the Federation in 1962. Deteriorating economic conditions during the 1970s led to recurrent violence as rival gangs affiliated with the major political parties evolved into powerful organized crime networks involved in international drug smuggling and money laundering. Violent crime, drug trafficking, and poverty pose significant challenges to the government today. Nonetheless, many rural and resort areas remain relatively safe and contribute substantially to the economy. |
| Birth rate | 30.01 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 20.44 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $49.7 million
expenditures: $75.1 million; including capital expenditures of NA (2003) |
revenues: $3.441 billion
expenditures: $3.905 billion (2007 est.) |
| Capital | name: Honiara
geographic coordinates: 9 26 S, 159 57 E time difference: UTC+11 (16 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
name: Kingston
geographic coordinates: 18 00 N, 76 48 W time difference: UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
| Climate | tropical monsoon; few extremes of temperature and weather | tropical; hot, humid; temperate interior |
| Coastline | 5,313 km | 1,022 km |
| Constitution | 7 July 1978 | 6 August 1962 |
| Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Solomon Islands local long form: none local short form: Solomon Islands former: British Solomon Islands |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Jamaica |
| Death rate | 3.92 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 6.59 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Debt - external | $166 million (2004) | $7.138 billion (31 December 2007 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 Brenda LaGrange JOHNSON
embassy: 142 Old Hope Road, Kingston 6 mailing address: P.O. Box 541, Kingston 5 telephone: [1] (876) 702-6000 FAX: [1] (876) 702-6348 |
| 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 Gordon SHIRLEY
chancery: 1520 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 452-0660 FAX: [1] (202) 452-0081 consulate(s) general: Miami, New York |
| 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 | $122 million annually, mainly from Australia (2004 est.) | $35.74 million (2005) |
| Economy - overview | The bulk of the population depends on agriculture, fishing, and forestry for at least part of its 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. | The Jamaican economy is heavily dependent on services, which now account for more than 60% of GDP. The country continues to derive most of its foreign exchange from tourism, remittances, and bauxite/alumina. Remittances account for nearly 20% of GDP and are equivalent to tourism revenues. Jamaica's economy, already saddled with a record of sluggish growth, will suffer an economic setback from damages caused by Hurricane Dean in August 2007. The economy faces serious long-term problems: high but declining interest rates, increased foreign competition, exchange rate instability, a sizable merchandise trade deficit, large-scale unemployment and underemployment, and a debt-to-GDP ratio of 135%. Jamaica's onerous debt burden - the fourth highest per capita - is the result of government bailouts to ailing sectors of the economy, most notably the financial sector in the mid-to-late 1990s. Inflation also has declined, standing at about 7% at the end of 2007. High unemployment exacerbates the serious crime problem, including gang violence that is fueled by the drug trade. The GOLDING administration faces the difficult prospect of having to achieve fiscal discipline in order to maintain debt payments while simultaneously attacking a serious and growing crime problem that is hampering economic growth. |
| Electricity - consumption | 51.15 million kWh (2003) | 6.131 billion kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2003) | 0 kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2003) | 0 kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - production | 55 million kWh (2003) | 6.985 billion kWh (2005) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Makarakomburu 2,447 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Blue Mountain Peak 2,256 m |
| Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion; many of the surrounding coral reefs are dead or dying | heavy rates of deforestation; coastal waters polluted by industrial waste, sewage, and oil spills; damage to coral reefs; air pollution in Kingston results from vehicle emissions |
| 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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
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) | black 91.2%, mixed 6.2%, other or unknown 2.6% (2001 census) |
| Exchange rates | Solomon Islands dollars per US dollar - 7.5299 (2005), 7.4847 (2004), 7.5059 (2003), 6.7488 (2002), 5.278 (2001) | Jamaican dollars per US dollar - 69.034 (2007), 65.768 (2006), 62.51 (2005), 61.197 (2004), 57.741 (2003) |
| 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 Manasseh SOGAVARE (since 4 May 2006); note - Prime Minister Snyder RINI, elected on 18 April 2006 and sworn in on 20 April 2006, resigned on 26 April prior to no confidence vote in parliament; SOGAVARE elected on 4 May 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 (eligible for a second term); 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 General Kenneth O. HALL (since 15 February 2006)
head of government: Prime Minister Bruce GOLDING (since 11 September 2007) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the prime minister; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition in the House of Representatives is appointed prime minister by the governor general; the deputy prime minister is recommended by the prime minister |
| Exports | NA bbl/day | 1,531 bbl/day (2004) |
| Exports - commodities | timber, fish, copra, palm oil, cocoa | alumina, bauxite, sugar, bananas, rum, coffee, yams, beverages, chemicals, wearing apparel, mineral fuels |
| Exports - partners | China 40.7%, South Korea 13.2%, Thailand 6.9%, Japan 6.3%, Philippines 4.5%, Italy 4.1% (2005) | US 30.2%, Canada 15.6%, China 15.2%, UK 10.3%, Netherlands 7%, Norway 4.6% (2006) |
| 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 | diagonal yellow cross divides the flag into four triangles - green (top and bottom) and black (hoist side and outer side) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 42%
industry: 11% services: 47% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 5%
industry: 34% services: 61% (2007 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 4.4% (2005 est.) | 1.5% (2007 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 8 00 S, 159 00 E | 18 15 N, 77 30 W |
| Geography - note | strategic location on sea routes between the South Pacific Ocean, the Solomon Sea, and the Coral Sea | strategic location between Cayman Trench and Jamaica Channel, the main sea lanes for the Panama Canal |
| 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, NZ, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, and Tonga arrived 24 July 2003; by 2006, the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI) had been scaled back to 259 police officers and 20 military, in addition to civilian technical advisers; in response to rioting that broke out in mid-April 2006, Australia dispatched an addtional 220 troops and 70 police officers to help restore order | - |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 2.1%
highest 10%: 35.8% (2004) |
| Illicit drugs | - | transshipment point for cocaine from South America to North America and Europe; illicit cultivation and consumption of cannabis; government has an active manual cannabis eradication program; corruption is a major concern; substantial money-laundering activity; Colombian narcotics traffickers favor Jamaica for illicit financial transactions |
| Imports | NA bbl/day | 71,420 bbl/day (2004) |
| Imports - commodities | food, plant and equipment, manufactured goods, fuels, chemicals | food and other consumer goods, industrial supplies, fuel, parts and accessories of capital goods, machinery and transport equipment, construction materials |
| Imports - partners | Australia 25.8%, Singapore 25.3%, NZ 4.6%, Fiji 4.2%, Papua New Guinea 4.1% (2005) | US 39.3%, Trinidad and Tobago 13.6%, Venezuela 9.5% (2006) |
| Independence | 7 July 1978 (from UK) | 6 August 1962 (from UK) |
| Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 2% (2007 est.) |
| Industries | fish (tuna), mining, timber | tourism, bauxite/alumina, agro processing, light manufactures, rum, cement, metal, paper, chemical products, telecommunications |
| Infant mortality rate | total: 20.63 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 23.54 deaths/1,000 live births female: 17.59 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
total: 15.73 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 16.4 deaths/1,000 live births female: 15.01 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 6.6% (2005 est.) | 7.1% (2007 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, MIGA, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-15, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
| Irrigated land | NA | 250 sq km (2002) |
| Judicial branch | Court of Appeal | Supreme Court (judges appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister); Court of Appeal |
| Labor force | 249,200 (1999) | 1.255 million (2007 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 75%
industry: 5% services: 20% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 17%
industry: 19% services: 64% (2006) |
| Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
| Land use | arable land: 0.62%
permanent crops: 2.04% other: 97.34% (2005) |
arable land: 15.83%
permanent crops: 10.01% other: 74.16% (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 |
English, English patois |
| Legal system | English common law, which is widely disregarded | based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
| 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 April 2006 (next to be held in 2010) election results: percent of vote by party - National Party 6.9%, SIPRA 6.3%, Democratic 4.9%, PAP 6.3%, LAFARI 2.8%, Liberal 5%, SOCRED 4.3%, independents 60.3%; seats by party - National Party 4, SIPRA 4, Democratic 3, PAP 3, LAFARI 2, Liberal 2, SOCRED 2, independents 30 |
bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (a 21-member body appointed by the governor general on the recommendations of the prime minister and the leader of the opposition; ruling party is allocated 13 seats, and the opposition is allocated 8 seats) and the House of Representatives (60 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 3 September 2007 (next to be held no later than October 2012) election results: percent of vote by party - JLP 50.1%, PNP 49.8%; seats by party - JLP 33, PNP 27 |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 72.91 years
male: 70.4 years female: 75.55 years (2006 est.) |
total population: 73.12 years
male: 71.43 years female: 74.9 years (2007 est.) |
| Literacy | definition: NA
total population: NA male: NA female: NA |
definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 87.9% male: 84.1% female: 91.6% (2003 est.) |
| Location | Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Papua New Guinea | Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, south of Cuba |
| 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 |
measured from claimed archipelagic straight baselines
territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to edge of the continental margin |
| Merchant marine | - | total: 13 ships (1000 GRT or over) 161,700 GRT/241,663 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 6, cargo 2, carrier 1, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 3 foreign-owned: 12 (Denmark 1, Germany 1, Greece 8, Latvia 2) registered in other countries: 1 (Panama 1) (2007) |
| Military branches | no regular military forces; Royal Solomon Islands Police (RSIP) | Jamaica Defense Force: Ground Forces, Coast Guard, Air Wing (2007) |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | NA | - |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA | 0.6% (2006 est.) |
| National holiday | Independence Day, 7 July (1978) | Independence Day, 6 August (1962) |
| Nationality | noun: Solomon Islander(s)
adjective: Solomon Islander |
noun: Jamaican(s)
adjective: Jamaican |
| Natural hazards | typhoons, but rarely destructive; geologically active region with frequent earth tremors; volcanic activity | hurricanes (especially July to November) |
| Natural resources | fish, forests, gold, bauxite, phosphates, lead, zinc, nickel | bauxite, gypsum, limestone |
| Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) | -6.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Political parties and leaders | Association of Independent Members or AIM [Thomas CHAN]; Christian Alliance Solomon Islands or CASI [Edward RONIA]; LAFARI Party [John GARO]; National Party [Francis HILLY]; People's Alliance Party or PAP [Sir Allan KEMAKEZA]; Social Credit Party or SOCRED [Manasseh Damukana SOGAVARE]; Solomon First Party [David QUAN]; Solomon Islands Democratic Party [Gabriel SURI]; Solomon Islands Labor Party or SILP [Joses TUHANUKU]; Solomon Islands Liberal Party [Bartholomew ULUFA'ALU]; Solomon Islands Party for Rural Advancement or SIPRA [Job D. TAUSINGA]; United Party [Sir Peter KENILOREA]
note: in general, Solomon Islands politics is characterized by fluid coalitions |
Jamaica Labor Party or JLP [Bruce GOLDING]; People's National Party or PNP [Portia SIMPSON-MILLER]; National Democratic Movement or NDM [Michael WILLIAMS] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | Isatabu Freedom Movement (IFM); Malaita Eagle Force (MEF); note - these rival armed ethnic factions crippled the Solomon Islands in a wave of violence from 1999 to 2003 | New Beginnings Movement or NBM; Rastafarians (black religious/racial cultists, pan-Africanists) |
| Population | 552,438 (July 2006 est.) | 2,780,132 (July 2007 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | NA% | 14.8% (2003 est.) |
| Population growth rate | 2.61% (2006 est.) | 0.777% (2007 est.) |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 1 (2004) | AM 10, FM 13, 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) | Protestant 62.5% (Seventh-Day Adventist 10.8%, Pentecostal 9.5%, Other Church of God 8.3%, Baptist 7.2%, New Testament Church of God 6.3%, Church of God in Jamaica 4.8%, Church of God of Prophecy 4.3%, Anglican 3.6%, other Christian 7.7%), Roman Catholic 2.6%, other or unspecified 14.2%, none 20.9%, (2001 census) |
| 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: 0.92 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.034 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.816 male(s)/female total population: 0.978 male(s)/female (2007 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: fully automatic domestic telephone network
domestic: the 1999 agreement to open the market for telecommunications services resulted in rapid growth in mobile-cellular telephone usage; mobile-cellular teledensity now exceeds 100 per 100 persons; the number of fixed-lines in use has been declining international: country code - 1-876; the Fibralink submarine cable network provides enhanced delivery of business and broadband traffic and is linked to the Americas Region Caribbean Ring System (ARCOS-1) submarine cable in the Dominican Republic; the link to ARCOS-1 provides seamless connectivity to US, parts of the Caribbean, Central America, and South America; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 7,400 (2005) | 319,000 (2005) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 6,000 (2005) | 2.804 million (2005) |
| Television broadcast stations | - | 7 (1997) |
| Terrain | mostly rugged mountains with some low coral atolls | mostly mountains, with narrow, discontinuous coastal plain |
| Total fertility rate | 3.91 children born/woman (2006 est.) | 2.36 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | NA% | 10.2% (2007 est.) |
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