Compare Taiwan (2008) - Solomon Islands (2005)

Compare Taiwan (2008) z Solomon Islands (2005)

	Taiwan (2008)	Solomon Islands (2005)

Administrative divisions	includes main island of Taiwan plus smaller islands nearby and off coast of China's Fujian Province; Taiwan is divided into 18 counties (hsien, singular and plural), 5 municipalities (shih, singular and plural), and 2 special municipalities (chuan-shih, singular and plural) note: Taiwan uses a variety of romanization systems; while a modified Wade-Giles system still dominates, the city of Taipei has adopted a Pinyin romanization for street and place names within its boundaries; other local authorities use different romanization systems; names for administrative divisions that follow are taken from the Taiwan Yearbook 2007 published by the Government Information Office in Taipei. counties: Changhua, Chiayi [county], Hsinchu, Hualien, Kaohsiung [county], Kinmen, Lienchiang, Miaoli, Nantou, Penghu, Pingtung, Taichung, Tainan, Taipei [county], Taitung, Taoyuan, Yilan, and Yunlin municipalities: Chiayi [city], Hsinchu, Keelung, Taichung, Tainan special municipalities: Kaohsiung [city], Taipei [city]	9 provinces and 1 capital territory; Central, Choiseul, Guadalcanal, Honiara, Isabel, Makira, Malaita, Rennell and Bellona, Temotu, Western
Age structure	0-14 years: 17.8% (male 2,117,051/female 1,954,709) 15-64 years: 72% (male 8,306,351/female 8,141,268) 65 years and over: 10.2% (male 1,150,001/female 1,189,492) (2007 est.)	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.)
Agriculture - products	rice, corn, vegetables, fruit, tea; pigs, poultry, beef, milk; fish	cocoa beans, coconuts, palm kernels, rice, potatoes, vegetables, fruit; cattle, pigs; timber; fish
Airports	41 (2007)	33 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 38 over 3,047 m: 8 2,438 to 3,047 m: 9 1,524 to 2,437 m: 11 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 3 (2007)	total: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2007)	total: 31 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 9 under 914 m: 21 (2004 est.)
Area	total: 35,980 sq km land: 32,260 sq km water: 3,720 sq km note: includes the Pescadores, Matsu, and Quemoy islands	total: 28,450 sq km land: 27,540 sq km water: 910 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than Maryland and Delaware combined	slightly smaller than Maryland
Background	In 1895, military defeat forced China to cede Taiwan to Japan. Taiwan reverted to Chinese control after World War II. Following the Communist victory on the mainland in 1949, 2 million Nationalists fled to Taiwan and established a government using the 1946 constitution drawn up for all of China. Over the next five decades, the ruling authorities gradually democratized and incorporated the local population within the governing structure. In 2000, Taiwan underwent its first peaceful transfer of power from the Nationalist to the Democratic Progressive Party. Throughout this period, the island prospered and became one of East Asia's economic "Tigers." The dominant political issues continue to be the relationship between Taiwan and China - specifically the question of eventual unification - as well as domestic political and economic reform.	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.
Birth rate	8.97 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)	30.74 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Budget	revenues: $49 billion expenditures: $5.19 billion (2007 est.)	revenues: $49.7 million expenditures: $75.1 million, including capital expenditures of $0 (2003)
Capital	name: Taipei geographic coordinates: 25 03 N, 121 30 E time difference: UTC+8 (13 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)	Honiara
Climate	tropical; marine; rainy season during southwest monsoon (June to August); cloudiness is persistent and extensive all year	tropical monsoon; few extremes of temperature and weather
Coastline	1,566.3 km	5,313 km
Constitution	25 December 1947; amended in 1992, 1994, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2005 note: constitution adopted on 25 December 1946; went into effect on 25 December 1947	7 July 1978
Country name	conventional long form: none conventional short form: Taiwan local long form: none local short form: T'ai-wan former: Formosa	conventional long form: none conventional short form: Solomon Islands former: British Solomon Islands
Death rate	6.54 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)	3.98 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Debt - external	$85.8 billion (31 December 2007)	$180.4 million (2002)
Diplomatic representation from the US	none; unofficial commercial and cultural relations with the people on Taiwan are maintained through an unofficial instrumentality - the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) - which has offices in the US and Taiwan; US office at 1700 N. Moore St., Suite 1700, Arlington, VA 22209-1996, telephone: [1] (703) 525-8474, FAX: [1] (703) 841-1385); Taiwan offices at #7 Lane 134, Hsin Yi Road, Section 3, Taipei, Taiwan, telephone: [886] (2) 2162-2000, FAX: [886] (2) 2162-2251; #2 Chung Cheng 3rd Road, 5th Floor, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, telephone: [886] (7) 238-7744, FAX: [886] (7) 238-5237; and the American Trade Center, Room 3208 International Trade Building, Taipei World Trade Center, 333 Keelung Road Section 1, Taipei, Taiwan 10548, telephone: [886] (2) 2720-1550, FAX: [886] (2) 2757-7162	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
Diplomatic representation in the US	none; unofficial commercial and cultural relations with the people of the US are maintained through an unofficial instrumentality, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO), which has its headquarters in Taipei and in the US in Washington, DC; there are also branch offices called Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in 12 other US cities	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
Disputes - international	involved in complex dispute with China, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, and possibly Brunei over the Spratly Islands; the 2002 "Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea" has eased tensions but falls short of a legally binding "code of conduct" desired by several of the disputants; Paracel Islands are occupied by China, but claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam; in 2003, China and Taiwan became more vocal in rejecting both Japan's claims to the uninhabited islands of the Senkaku-shoto (Diaoyu Tai) and Japan's unilaterally declared exclusive economic zone in the East China Sea where all parties engage in hydrocarbon prospecting	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
Economic aid - recipient	-	$28 million annually, mainly from Australia (2003 est.)
Economy - overview	Taiwan has a dynamic capitalist economy with gradually decreasing guidance of investment and foreign trade by the authorities. In keeping with this trend, some large, state-owned banks and industrial firms are being privatized. Exports have provided the primary impetus for industrialization. The island runs a large trade surplus, and its foreign reserves are among the world's largest. Despite restrictions on cross-strait links, China has overtaken the US to become Taiwan's largest export market and its second-largest source of imports after Japan. China is also the island's number one destination for foreign direct investment. Strong trade performance in 2007 pushed Taiwan's GDP growth rate above 5%, and unemployment is below 4%.	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.
Electricity - consumption	221 billion kWh (2006)	29.76 million kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2007 est.)	0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2007)	0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - production	235 billion kWh (2006)	32 million kWh (2002)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: South China Sea 0 m highest point: Yu Shan 3,952 m	lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Makarakomburu 2,447 m
Environment - current issues	air pollution; water pollution from industrial emissions, raw sewage; contamination of drinking water supplies; trade in endangered species; low-level radioactive waste disposal	deforestation; soil erosion; many of the surrounding coral reefs are dead or dying
Environment - international agreements	party to: none of the selected agreements because of Taiwan's international status signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements because of Taiwan's international status	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	Taiwanese (including Hakka) 84%, mainland Chinese 14%, indigenous 2%	Melanesian 94.5%, Polynesian 3%, Micronesian 1.2%, other 1.1%, unspecified 0.2% (1999 census)
Exchange rates	New Taiwan dollars per US dollar - 32.84 (2007), 32.534 (2006), 31.71 (2005), 34.418 (2004), 34.575 (2003)	Solomon Islands dollars per US dollar - 7.4847 (2004), 7.5059 (2003), 6.7488 (2002), 5.278 (2001), 5.0889 (2000)
Executive branch	chief of state: President CHEN Shui-bian (since 20 May 2000); Vice President Annette LU (LU Hsiu-lien) (since 20 May 2000) head of government: Premier (President of the Executive Yuan) CHANG Chun-hsiung (since 21 May 2007); Vice Premier (Vice President of the Executive Yuan) CHIOU I-jen (since 21 May 2007) cabinet: Executive Yuan - (ministers appointed by president on recommendation of premier) elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms (eligible for a second term); election last held 20 March 2004 (next to be held 22 March 2008); premier appointed by the president; vice premiers appointed by the president on the recommendation of the premier election results: CHEN Shui-bian re-elected president; percent of vote - CHEN Shui-bian 50.1%, LIEN Chan 49.9%	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
Exports	289,200 bbl/day (2006)	NA
Exports - commodities	electronic and electrical products, metals, textiles, plastics, chemicals, auto parts (2002)	timber, fish, copra, palm oil, cocoa
Exports - partners	China 24%, Hong Kong 15%, US 13.4%, Japan 6.7% (2007)	China 27.8%, South Korea 17.1%, Thailand 15.7%, Japan 9.7%, Philippines 4.8% (2004)
Fiscal year	calendar year	calendar year
Flag description	red with a dark blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing a white sun with 12 triangular rays	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
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 1.6% industry: 26.8% services: 71.5% (2007 est.)	agriculture: 42% industry: 11% services: 47% (2000 est.)
GDP - per capita	-	purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	5.5% (2007 est.)	5.8% (2003 est.)
Geographic coordinates	23 30 N, 121 00 E	8 00 S, 159 00 E
Geography - note	strategic location adjacent to both the Taiwan Strait and the Luzon Strait	strategic location on sea routes between the South Pacific Ocean, the Solomon Sea, and the Coral Sea
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.
Heliports	4 (2007)	-
Highways	-	total: 1,360 km paved: 34 km unpaved: 1,326 km (1999 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: 6.7% highest 10%: 41.1% (2002 est.)	lowest 10%: NA highest 10%: NA
Illicit drugs	regional transit point for heroin, methamphetamine, and precursor chemicals; transshipment point for drugs to Japan; major problem with domestic consumption of methamphetamine and heroin; rising problems with use of ketamine and club drugs	-
Imports	1.208 million bbl/day (2006)	NA
Imports - commodities	electronic and electrical products, machinery, petroleum, precision instruments, organic chemicals, metals (2002)	food, plant and equipment, manufactured goods, fuels, chemicals
Imports - partners	Japan 21%, China 12.7%, US 12.2%, South Korea 7.1%, Saudi Arabia 4.6% (2007)	Australia 24.6%, Singapore 23.1%, New Zealand 7.7%, Fiji 4.8%, Papua New Guinea 4.7% (2004)
Independence	-	7 July 1978 (from UK)
Industrial production growth rate	7.5% (2007 est.)	NA
Industries	electronics, petroleum refining, armaments, chemicals, textiles, iron and steel, machinery, cement, food processing, vehicles, consumer products, pharmaceuticals	fish (tuna), mining, timber
Infant mortality rate	total: 5.54 deaths/1,000 live births male: 5.86 deaths/1,000 live births female: 5.19 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)	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.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	1.8% (2007 est.)	10% (2003 est.)
International organization participation	ADB, APEC, BCIE, ICC, IOC, ITUC, WCL, WTO	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
Irrigated land	NA	NA
Judicial branch	Judicial Yuan (justices appointed by the president with consent of the Legislative Yuan)	Court of Appeal
Labor force	10.78 million (2007 est.)	26,840 (1999)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: 5.3% industry: 36.8% services: 57.9% (2007 est.)	agriculture 75%, industry 5%, services 20% (2000 est.)
Land boundaries	0 km	0 km
Land use	arable land: 24% permanent crops: 1% other: 75% (2001)	arable land: 0.64% permanent crops: 2% other: 97.36% (2001)
Languages	Mandarin Chinese (official), Taiwanese (Min), Hakka dialects	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
Legal system	based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction	English common law, which is widely disregarded
Legislative branch	unicameral Legislative Yuan (113 seats - 73 district members elected by popular vote, 34 at-large members elected on basis of proportion of islandwide votes received by participating political parties, 6 elected by popular vote among aboriginal populations; to serve four-year terms); parties must receive 5% of vote to qualify for at-large seats elections: Legislative Yuan - last held 12 January 2008 (next to be held in January 2012) election results: Legislative Yuan - percent of vote by party - KMT 53.5%, DPP 38.2%, NPSU 2.4%, PFP 0.3%, others 1.6%, independents 4%; seats by party - KMT 81, DPP 27, NPSU 3, PFP 1, independent 1	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
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 77.56 years male: 74.65 years female: 80.74 years (2007 est.)	total population: 72.66 years male: 70.16 years female: 75.28 years (2005 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 96.1% male: NA% female: NA% (2003)	definition: NA total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA%
Location	Eastern Asia, islands bordering the East China Sea, Philippine Sea, South China Sea, and Taiwan Strait, north of the Philippines, off the southeastern coast of China	Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Papua New Guinea
Map references	Southeast Asia	Oceania
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm	measured from claimed archipelagic baselines territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm
Merchant marine	total: 102 ships (1000 GRT or over) 2,537,256 GRT/4,203,423 DWT by type: bulk carrier 33, cargo 20, chemical tanker 2, container 21, passenger/cargo 2, petroleum tanker 15, refrigerated cargo 7, roll on/roll off 2 foreign-owned: 4 (Canada 3, France 1) registered in other countries: 489 (Bahamas 1, Bolivia 1, Cambodia 1, Honduras 2, Hong Kong 11, Indonesia 2, Italy 11, Liberia 82, Panama 306, Singapore 60, Thailand 1, UK 11, unknown 3) (2007)	-
Military branches	Army, Navy (includes Marine Corps), Air Force, Coast Guard Administration, Armed Forces Reserve Command, Combined Service Forces Command, Armed Forces Police Command	no regular military forces; Royal Solomon Islands Police (RSIP)
Military expenditures - dollar figure	-	NA
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	2.2% (2006; to increase to 2.85% in 2007)	NA
National holiday	Republic Day (Anniversary of the Chinese Revolution), 10 October (1911)	Independence Day, 7 July (1978)
Nationality	noun: Taiwan (singular and plural) note: example - he or she is from Taiwan; they are from Taiwan adjective: Taiwan	noun: Solomon Islander(s) adjective: Solomon Islander
Natural hazards	earthquakes and typhoons	typhoons, but rarely destructive; geologically active region with frequent earth tremors; volcanic activity
Natural resources	small deposits of coal, natural gas, limestone, marble, and asbestos	fish, forests, gold, bauxite, phosphates, lead, zinc, nickel
Net migration rate	0.61 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Pipelines	condensate 25 km; gas 661 km (2007)	-
Political parties and leaders	Democratic Progressive Party or DPP [Frank HSIEH or HSIEH Chang-ting] (acting); Kuomintang or KMT (Nationalist Party) [WU Po-hsiung]; Non-Partisan Solidarity Union or NPSU [CHANG Po-ya]; People First Party or PFP [James SOONG]	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
Political pressure groups and leaders	Taiwan independence movement, various business and environmental groups note: debate on Taiwan independence has become acceptable within the mainstream of domestic politics on Taiwan; political liberalization and the increased representation of opposition parties in Taiwan's legislature have opened public debate on the island's national identity; a broad popular consensus has developed that the island currently enjoys sovereign independence and - whatever the ultimate outcome regarding reunification or independence - that Taiwan's people must have the deciding voice; public opinion polls consistently show a substantial majority of Taiwan people supports maintaining Taiwan's status quo for the foreseeable future; advocates of Taiwan independence oppose the stand that the island will eventually unify with mainland China; goals of the Taiwan independence movement include establishing a sovereign nation on Taiwan and entering the UN; other organizations supporting Taiwan independence include the World United Formosans for Independence and the Organization for Taiwan Nation Building	NA
Population	22,858,872 (July 2007 est.)	538,032 (July 2005 est.)
Population below poverty line	0.95% (2007 est.)	NA
Population growth rate	0.304% (2007 est.)	2.68% (2005 est.)
Ports and harbors	-	Honiara, Malloco Bay, Shortland Harbor, Viru Harbor, Yandina
Radio broadcast stations	AM 140, FM 229, shortwave 49	AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 1 (2004)
Railways	total: 1,588 km standard gauge: 345 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 1,093 km 1.067-m gauge note: 150 km .762-m gauge (belonging primarily to Taiwan Sugar Corporation and Taiwan Forestry Bureau; some to other entities) (2007)	-
Religions	mixture of Buddhist and Taoist 93%, Christian 4.5%, other 2.5%	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)
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.09 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.083 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.967 male(s)/female total population: 1.026 male(s)/female (2007 est.)	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.)
Suffrage	20 years of age; universal	21 years of age; universal
Telephone system	general assessment: provides telecommunications service for every business and private need domestic: thoroughly modern; completely digitalized international: country code - 886; numerous submarine cables provide links throughout Asia, Australia, the Middle East, Europe, and US; 2 satellite earth stations	general assessment: NA domestic: NA international: country code - 677; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)
Telephones - main lines in use	14.497 million (2006)	6,600 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular	23.249 million (2006)	1,000 (2002)
Television broadcast stations	76 (46 digital and 30 analog)	-
Terrain	eastern two-thirds mostly rugged mountains; flat to gently rolling plains in west	mostly rugged mountains with some low coral atolls
Total fertility rate	1.12 children born/woman (2007 est.)	4.04 children born/woman (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate	3.9% (2007)	NA%

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