The Solomon Islands

The Solomon Islands, comprising more than thousand islands, is situated in Melanesia and east of Papua New Guinea. The Solomon Islands and Bougainville Province in Papua New Guinea together form the North Solomon Islands. The capital city of the Solomon Islands is Honiara, which is located in the island of Guadalcanal. The Solomon Islands is a member of the British Commonwealth.

HISTORY:- Solomon Islands were first explored in 1568 by Alvaro de Mendana of Spain. In 1886 the islands were divided into Great Britain and Germany. The southern Solomon Islands became British protectorate in 1893. By 1900, the entire territory of the Solomons came under the British control. During the World War II, the Japanese troops invaded Solomon Islands. After some bloodiest battles, most notably the battle of Guadalcanal, the British re-asserted its hold upon the islands in 1945. In 1976, the islands gained autonomy. In the next year, the Solomon Islands achieved independence. During 1900s, the border-tensions with Papua New Guinea reached a culminating point when Papua New Guinea forces penetrated into the Solomons. In 1999, the government declared a state of emergency for four months when the Isatabu Freedom Movement expelled over 20,000 Malaitans from the island. In spite of signing the peace agreement, the country remained in chaos and lawlessness. In 2003, Australian intervention to restore peace in the country finally brought back stability to the Solomons.

GEOGRAPHY:- Solomon Islands are located at 8 00 S, 159 00 E in the Oceania. The islands occupy total 28,450 sq km area in which 27,540 sq km area is captured by land and 910 sq km area is captured by internal water sources. The coastline is 5,313 km long along with the South Pacific Ocean. The lowest point is the Pacific Ocean (0 m) and the highest point is the Mount Makarakomburu (2,447 m). The archipelago is composed of rugged mountains with some low coral atolls.

CLIMATE:- The climate of Solomon Islands is mostly tropical monsoon with few extremes of temperature and weather.

GOVERNMENT:- The Solomon Islands has a parliamentary democracy. The constitution was adopted on 7th July 1978. The legal system is based on the English common law. The three major branches of the government are:

Executive branch comprises the Queen Elizabeth II (chief of state), the Governor General, the Prime Minister (head of government), the Deputy Prime Minister, and the cabinet. The governor general is appointed by the monarch on the advice of Parliament on a 5-year term. The leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually elected the prime minister by the Parliament. The deputy prime minister is appointed by the governor general from among the members of the Parliament on the advice of the prime minister. The 20-member cabinet is appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister from among the members of Parliament.

Legislative branch comprises the unicameral National Parliament (50 seats).

Judicial branch comprises the Court of Appeal.

The prominent political parties of the Solomon Islands are Association of Independent Members (AIM), People's Alliance Party (PAP), Socred, Rural Advancement Party (RAP), Lafari Party, Christian Alliance Party, Democratic Party, National Party, Liberal Party, and Labour Party. Suffrage is universal at the age of 21.

Queen                                   Queen Elizabeth II

 Governor-General                 Sir Nathaniel Waena

 Prime Minister                       Derek Sikua

ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS:- The Solomon Islands is divided into 9 provinces and 1 capital territory (Honiara). The provinces are: Central, Choiseul, Guadalcanal, Isabel, Makira, Malaita, Rennell and Bellona, Temotu, and Western province.

CULTURE:- The culture of the Solomon Islands is rooted in the age-old customs.

ECONOMY:- The lesser developed economy of the Solomon Islands mostly depends on subsistence farming and fishing, engaging 75% of the population. The islands have unexplored mineral resources like lead, zinc, nickel, and gold.

GDP/PPP (2007 est.): $948 million; per capita $1,900.

Real growth rate: 5.4%.

Inflation: 6.3%.

Unemployment: NA.

Arable land: 1%.

Agriculture: Cocoa beans, coconuts, palm kernels, rice, potatoes, vegetables, fruit; timber; cattle, pigs; fish.

Labor force: 26,840 (1999); agriculture 75%, industry 5%, services 20% (2000 est.).

Industries: Fish (tuna), mining, timber.

Natural resources: Fish, forests, gold, bauxite, phosphates, lead, zinc, nickel.

Exports: $171 million f.o.b. (2004 est.): timber, fish, copra, palm oil, cocoa.

Imports: $159 million f.o.b. (2004): food, plant and equipment, manufactured goods, fuels, chemicals.

Major trading partners: China, South Korea, Thailand, Japan, Philippines, Australia, Singapore, New Zealand, Fiji, Papua New Guinea (2004).

Monetary unit: Solomon Islands dollar

LANGUAGE:- Melanesian pidgin (lingua franca) is the most commonly spoken language in the Solomon Islands. The official language English is spoken by only 1%-2% of the population. There are other 120 indigenous languages in the archipelago.

CITIES:- The city of Honiara is the capital as well as the largest city of the Solomon Islands. Other large towns are Gizo, Auki, and Kirakira.

POPULATION:- The population of the Solomon Islands is 566,842 with an average growth rate of 2.5%.

Density per sq mi: 53

Literacy rate: NA.

RACE:-

Melanesian 94.5%

Polynesian 3%

Micronesian 1.2%

Other 1.1%

Unspecified 0.2% (1999)

RELIGION:-

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)

HEALTH:-

Birth rate: 28.48 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate: 3.81 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Infant mortality rate: total: 19.67 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 73.44 years

Total fertility rate: 3.65 children born/woman (2008 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths: NA

Total expenditure on health per capita (Intl $, 2005): 92

UNICEF:- UNICEF’s Child Protection Programme fights against violence against children. UNICEF and its partners provide psychosocial support to social, environmental or political conflict-affected children. UNICEF’s Adolescent Development and Child Health Programme promotes awareness on HIV among the youth, trains the youth to enhance their skills. Teenage pregnancy, sexual abuse and trafficking of children are the major issues with the country. UNICEF supplies vaccines at a low cost. UNICEF partners with civil registrars and health ministries to assist them in birth registration.

TRANSPORTATION:-

Railways: 0 km.

Highways: total: 1,360 km; paved: 34 km; unpaved: 1,326 km (1999 est.).

Ports and harbors: Aola Bay, Honiara, Lofung, Noro, Viru Harbor, Yandina.

Airports: 32 (2002).