West Bank (2001) | Solomon Islands (2003) | |
Administrative divisions | - | 9 provinces and 1 capital territory*; Central, Choiseul (Lauru), Guadalcanal, Honiara*, Isabel, Makira, Malaita, Rennell/Bellona, Temotu, Western |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
44.61% (male 478,232; female 454,439) 15-64 years: 51.8% (male 552,661; female 530,230) 65 years and over: 3.59% (male 32,629; female 42,522) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 42.9% (male 111,333; female 107,062)
15-64 years: 54% (male 139,072; female 135,721) 65 years and over: 3.1% (male 7,754; female 8,248) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | olives, citrus, vegetables; beef, dairy products | cocoa beans, coconuts, palm kernels, rice, potatoes, vegetables, fruit; cattle, pigs; timber; fish |
Airports | 3 (2000 est.) | 32 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 30
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 9 under 914 m: 20 (2002) |
Area | total:
5,860 sq km land: 5,640 sq km water: 220 sq km note: includes West Bank, Latrun Salient, and the northwest quarter of the Dead Sea, but excludes Mt. Scopus; East Jerusalem and Jerusalem No Man's Land are also included only as a means of depicting the entire area occupied by Israel in 1967 |
total: 28,450 sq km
land: 27,540 sq km water: 910 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Delaware | slightly smaller than Maryland |
Background | The Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements (the DOP), signed in Washington on 13 September 1993, provided for a transitional period not exceeding five years of Palestinian interim self-government in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Under the DOP, Israel agreed to transfer certain powers and responsibilities to the Palestinian Authority, which includes the Palestinian Legislative Council elected in January 1996, as part of interim self-governing arrangements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. A transfer of powers and responsibilities for the Gaza Strip and Jericho took place pursuant to the Israel-PLO 4 May 1994 Cairo Agreement on the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area and in additional areas of the West Bank pursuant to the Israel-PLO 28 September 1995 Interim Agreement, the Israel-PLO 15 January 1997 Protocol Concerning Redeployment in Hebron, the Israel-PLO 23 October 1998 Wye River Memorandum, and the 4 September 1999 Sharm el-Sheikh Agreement. The DOP provides that Israel will retain responsibility during the transitional period for external security and for internal security and public order of settlements and Israeli citizens. Permanent status is to be determined through direct negotiations, which resumed in September 1999 after a three-year hiatus. An intifadah broke out in September 2000; the resulting widespread violence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Israel's military response, and instability in the Palestinian Authority are undermining progress toward a permanent settlement. | 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. |
Birth rate | 35.83 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 32.45 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$1.6 billion expenditures: $1.73 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA note: includes Gaza Strip (1999 est.) |
revenues: $38 million
expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001) |
Capital | - | Honiara |
Climate | temperate, temperature and precipitation vary with altitude, warm to hot summers, cool to mild winters | tropical monsoon; few extremes of temperature and weather |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 5,313 km |
Constitution | - | 7 July 1978 |
Country name | conventional long form:
none conventional short form: West Bank |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Solomon Islands former: British Solomon Islands |
Currency | new Israeli shekel (ILS); Jordanian dinar (JOD) | Solomon Islands dollar (SBD) |
Death rate | 4.37 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 4.12 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $108 million (includes Gaza Strip) (1997 est.) | $137 million (2001 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 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | - | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Colin BECK
chancery: 800 Second Avenue, Suite 400L, New York, NY 10017 telephone: [1] (212) 599-6192, 6193 FAX: [1] (212) 661-8925 |
Disputes - international | West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli-occupied with current status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent status to be determined through further negotiation | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $121 million disbursed (includes Gaza Strip) (2000) | $28 million mainly from Japan, Australia, China, and NZ (2001 est.) |
Economy - overview | Economic output in the West Bank is governed by the Paris Economic Protocol of April 1994 between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Real per capita GDP for the West Bank and Gaza Strip (WBGS) declined by 36.1% between 1992 and 1996 owing to the combined effect of falling aggregate incomes and rapid population growth. The downturn in economic activity was largely the result of Israeli closure policies - the imposition of border closures in response to security incidents in Israel - which disrupted established labor and commodity market relationships between Israel and the WBGS. The most serious social effect of this downturn was rising unemployment; unemployment in the WBGS during the 1980s was generally under 5%; by 1995 it had risen to over 20%. Since 1997 Israel's use of comprehensive closures has decreased and, in 1998, Israel implemented new policies to reduce the impact of closures and other security procedures on the movement of Palestinian goods and labor. These changes fueled an almost three-year long economic recovery in the West Bank and Gaza Strip; real GDP grew by 5% in 1998 and 6% in 1999. Recovery was upended in the last quarter of 2000 with the outbreak of Palestinian violence, which triggered tight Israeli closures of Palestinian self-rule areas and a severe disruption of trade and labor movements. | 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. |
Electricity - consumption | NA kWh | 29.76 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | NA kWh | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | NA kWh; note - most electricity imported from Israel; East Jerusalem Electric Company buys and distributes electricity to Palestinians in East Jerusalem and its concession in the West Bank; the Israel Electric Company directly supplies electricity to most Jewish residents and military facilities; at the same time, some Palestinian municipalities, such as Nablus and Janin, generate their own electricity from small power plants | 32 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
NA% hydro: NA% nuclear: NA% other: NA% |
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Dead Sea -408 m highest point: Tall Asur 1,022 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Makarakomburu 2,447 m |
Environment - current issues | adequacy of fresh water supply; sewage treatment | deforestation; soil erosion; many of the surrounding coral reefs are dead or dying |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
Ethnic groups | Palestinian Arab and other 83%, Jewish 17% | Melanesian 93%, Polynesian 4%, Micronesian 1.5%, European 0.8%, Chinese 0.3%, other 0.4% |
Exchange rates | new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.0810 (December 2000), 4.0773 (2000), 4.1397 (1999), 3.8001 (1998), 3.4494 (1997), 3.1917 (1996); Jordanian dinars per US dollar - fixed rate of 0.7090 (from 1996) | Solomon Islands dollars per US dollar - NA (2002), NA (2001), 5.09 (2000), 4.84 (1999), 4.82 (1998) |
Executive branch | - | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Sir John LAPLI (since NA 1999)
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 | $682 million (includes Gaza Strip) (f.o.b., 1998 est.) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | olives, fruit, vegetables, limestone | timber, fish, copra, palm oil, cocoa |
Exports - partners | Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip | Japan 21.2%, China 18.8%, South Korea 16.3%, Philippines 8.9%, Thailand 7.6%, Singapore 4.1% (2002) |
Fiscal year | calendar year (since 1 January 1992) | 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 |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $3.1 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $800 million (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
9% industry: 28% services: 63% note: includes Gaza Strip (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 42%
industry: 11% services: 47% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,500 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | -7.5% (2000 est.) | -10% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 32 00 N, 35 15 E | 8 00 S, 159 00 E |
Geography - note | landlocked; highlands are main recharge area for Israel's coastal aquifers; there are 231 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the West Bank and 29 in East Jerusalem (August 1999 est.) | strategic location on sea routes between the South Pacific Ocean, the Solomon Sea, and the Coral Sea |
Highways | total:
4,500 km paved: 2,700 km unpaved: 1,800 km (1997 est.) note: Israelis have developed many highways to service Jewish settlements |
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 | $2.5 billion (includes Gaza Strip) (c.i.f., 1998 est.) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | food, consumer goods, construction materials | food, plant and equipment, manufactured goods, fuels, chemicals |
Imports - partners | Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip | Australia 31.3%, Singapore 19.7%, New Zealand 5.1%, Fiji 4.6%, Papua New Guinea 4.5% (2002) |
Independence | - | 7 July 1978 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA% |
Industries | generally small family businesses that produce cement, textiles, soap, olive-wood carvings, and mother-of-pearl souvenirs; the Israelis have established some small-scale, modern industries in the settlements and industrial centers | fish (tuna), mining, timber |
Infant mortality rate | 21.78 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 22.88 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 26.03 deaths/1,000 live births female: 19.58 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3% (includes Gaza Strip) (2000 est.) | 1.8% (2001 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, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 8 (1999) | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | - | Court of Appeal |
Labor force | NA | 26,842 |
Labor force - by occupation | services 66%, industry 21%, agriculture 13% (1996) | agriculture 75%, industry 5%, services 20% (2000 est.) |
Land boundaries | total:
404 km border countries: Israel 307 km, Jordan 97 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land:
27% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 32% forests and woodland: 1% other: 40% |
arable land: 1.5%
permanent crops: 0.64% other: 97.86% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians), English (widely understood) | 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 | - | English common law, which is widely disregarded |
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 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
72.28 years male: 70.58 years female: 74.07 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 72.1 years
male: 69.64 years female: 74.68 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
NA total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: NA
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Middle East, west of Jordan | Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Papua New Guinea |
Map references | Middle East | Oceania |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
continental shelf: 200 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | - | none (2002 est.) |
Military branches | NA | no regular military forces; Solomon Islands National Reconnaissance and Surveillance Force; Royal Solomon Islands Police (RSIP) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | $NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | NA% |
National holiday | - | Independence Day, 7 July (1978) |
Nationality | noun:
NA adjective: NA |
noun: Solomon Islander(s)
adjective: Solomon Islander |
Natural hazards | droughts | typhoons, but rarely destructive; geologically active region with frequent earth tremors; volcanic activity |
Natural resources | arable land | fish, forests, gold, bauxite, phosphates, lead, zinc, nickel |
Net migration rate | 3.29 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 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 |
Political pressure groups and leaders | - | NA |
Population | 2,090,713 (July 2001 est.)
note: in addition, there are some 176,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank and about 173,000 in East Jerusalem (August 1999 est.) |
509,190 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 3.48% (2001 est.) | 2.83% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none | Aola Bay, Honiara, Lofung, Noro, Viru Harbor, Yandina |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0
note: the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation broadcasts from an AM station in Ramallah on 675 kHz; numerous local, private stations are reported to be in operation (2000) |
AM 3, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | NA; note - most Palestinian households have radios (1999) | - |
Railways | 0 km | 0 km |
Religions | Muslim 75% (predominantly Sunni), Jewish 17%, Christian and other 8% | Anglican 45%, Roman Catholic 18%, United (Methodist/Presbyterian) 12%, Baptist 9%, Seventh-Day Adventist 7%, other Protestant 5%, indigenous beliefs 4% |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2001 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: 0.94 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | - | 21 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
NA domestic: NA international: NA note: Israeli company BEZEK and the Palestinian company PALTEL are responsible for communication services in the West Bank |
general assessment: NA
domestic: NA international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 95,729 (total for West Bank and Gaza Strip) (1997) | 8,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 658 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | NA | 0 (1997) |
Terrain | mostly rugged dissected upland, some vegetation in west, but barren in east | mostly rugged mountains with some low coral atolls |
Total fertility rate | 4.9 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 4.34 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 40% (includes Gaza Strip) (yearend 2000) | NA% |
Waterways | none | none |