SOLOMON ISLANDS                                                                 
GEOGRAPHY                                                                       
Total area: 28,450 km2; land area: 27,540 km2                                   
                                                                                
Comparative area: slightly larger than Maryland                                 
                                                                                
Land boundaries: none                                                           
                                                                                
Coastline: 5,313 km                                                             
                                                                                
Maritime claims: (measured from claimed archipelagic baselines);                
                                                                                
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm;                                                
                                                                                
Territorial sea: 12 nm                                                          
                                                                                
Climate: tropical monsoon; few extremes of temperature and weather              
                                                                                
Terrain: mostly rugged mountains with some low coral atolls                     
                                                                                
Natural resources: fish, forests, gold, bauxite, phosphates                     
                                                                                
Land use: arable land 1%; permanent crops 1%; meadows and pastures              
1%; forest and woodland 93%; other 4%                                           
                                                                                
Environment: subject to typhoons, which are rarely destructive;                 
geologically active region with frequent earth tremors                          
                                                                                
Note: located just east of Papua New Guinea in the South Pacific                
Ocean                                                                           
                                                                                
PEOPLE                                                                          
Population: 347,115 (July 1991), growth rate 3.5% (1991)                        
                                                                                
Birth rate: 40 births/1,000 population (1991)                                   
                                                                                
Death rate: 5 deaths/1,000 population (1991)                                    
                                                                                
Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)                          
                                                                                
Infant mortality rate: 39 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)                       
                                                                                
Life expectancy at birth: 67 years male, 72 years female (1991)                 
                                                                                
Total fertility rate: 6.2 children born/woman (1991)                            
                                                                                
Nationality: noun--Solomon Islander(s); adjective--Solomon Islander             
                                                                                
Ethnic divisions: Melanesian 93.0%, Polynesian 4.0%, Micronesian                
1.5%, European 0.8%, Chinese 0.3%, other 0.4%                                   
                                                                                
Religion: almost all at least nominally Christian; Anglican 34%,                
Roman Catholic 19%, Baptist 17%, United (Methodist/Presbyterian) 11%,           
Seventh-Day Adventist 10%, other Protestant 5%                                  
                                                                                
Language: 120 indigenous languages; Melanesian pidgin in much of                
the country is lingua franca; English spoken by 1-2% of population              
                                                                                
Literacy: NA% (male NA%, female NA%)                                            
                                                                                
Labor force: 23,448 economically active; agriculture, forestry, and             
fishing 32.4%; services 25%; construction, manufacturing, and mining            
7.0%; commerce, transport, and finance 4.7% (1984)                              
                                                                                
Organized labor: NA, but most of the cash-economy workers have                  
trade union representation                                                      
GOVERNMENT                                                                      
Long-form name: none                                                            
                                                                                
Type: independent parliamentary state within Commonwealth                       
                                                                                
Capital: Honiara                                                                
                                                                                
Administrative divisions: 7 provinces and 1 town*; Central,                     
Guadalcanal, Honiara*, Isabel, Makira, Malaita, Temotu, Western                 
                                                                                
Independence: 7 July 1978 (from UK; formerly British Solomon                    
Islands)                                                                        
                                                                                
Constitution: 7 July 1978                                                       
                                                                                
Legal system: common law                                                        
                                                                                
National holiday: Independence Day, 7 July (1978)                               
                                                                                
Executive branch: British monarch, governor general, prime                      
minister, Cabinet                                                               
                                                                                
Legislative branch: unicameral National Parliament                              
                                                                                
Judicial branch: High Court                                                     
                                                                                
Leaders:                                                                        
                                                                                
Chief of State--Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952),                     
represented by Governor General George LEPPING (since 27 June 1989,             
previously acted as governor general since 7 July 1988);                        
                                                                                
Head of Government--Prime Minister Solomon MAMALONI (since 28                   
March 1989);                                                                    
Deputy Prime Minister Sir Baddeley DEVESI (since NA October 1990)               
                                                                                
Political parties and leaders:                                                  
People's Alliance Party (PAP);                                                  
United Party (UP), Sir Peter KENILOREA;                                         
Solomon Islands Liberal Party (SILP), Bartholemew ULUFA'ALU;                    
Nationalist Front for Progress (NFP), Andrew NORI;                              
Labor Party (LP), Joses TUHANUKU                                                
                                                                                
Suffrage: universal at age 21                                                   
                                                                                
Elections:                                                                      
                                                                                
National Parliament--last held 22 February 1989 (next to be held                
February 1993);                                                                 
results--percent of vote by party NA;                                           
seats--(38 total) PAP 13, UP 6, NFP 4, SILP 4, LP 2, independents 9             
                                                                                
Member of: ACP, AsDB, C, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD,               
IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, IOC, ITU, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UPU, WFTU, WHO,             
WMO                                                                             
                                                                                
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador (vacant) resides in Honiara               
(Solomon Islands);                                                              
                                                                                
US--the ambassador in Papua New Guinea is accredited to the                     
Solomon Islands; Embassy at Mud Alley, Honiara (mailing address is              
American Embassy, P. O. Box 561, Honiara); telephone (677) 23890                
                                                                                
Flag: 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                                                               
                                                                                
ECONOMY                                                                         
Overview: About 90% of the population depend on subsistence                     
agriculture, fishing, and forestry for at least part of their livelihood.       
Agriculture, fishing, and forestry contribute about 75% to GDP, with the        
fishing and forestry sectors being important export earners. The service        
sector contributes about 25% to GDP. Most manufactured goods and                
petroleum products must be imported. The islands are rich in undeveloped        
mineral resources such as lead, zinc, nickel, and gold. The economy             
suffered from a severe cyclone in mid-1986 that caused widespread damage        
to the infrastructure.                                                          
                                                                                
GDP: $156 million, per capita $500 (1988); real growth rate 5.0%                
(1990 est.)                                                                     
                                                                                
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 10.8% (1989)                                  
                                                                                
Unemployment rate: NA%                                                          
                                                                                
Budget: revenues $44 million; expenditures $45 million,                         
including capital expenditures of $22 million (1989 est.)                       
                                                                                
Exports: $75 million (f.o.b., 1989);                                            
                                                                                
commodities--fish 46%, timber 31%, copra 5%, palm oil 5%;                       
                                                                                
partners--Japan 51%, UK 12%, Thailand 9%, Netherlands 8%, Australia             
2%, US 2% (1985)                                                                
                                                                                
Imports: $94 million (f.o.b., 1989);                                            
                                                                                
commodities--plant and machinery 30%, fuel 19%, food 16%;                       
                                                                                
partners--Japan 36%, US 23%, Singapore 9%, UK 9%, NZ 9%, Australia              
4%, Hong Kong 4%, China 3% (1985)                                               
                                                                                
External debt: $128 million (1988 est.)                                         
                                                                                
Industrial production: growth rate 0% (1987); accounts for 5%                   
of GDP                                                                          
                                                                                
Electricity: 21,000 kW capacity; 39 million kWh produced,                       
115 kWh per capita (1990)                                                       
                                                                                
Industries: copra, fish (tuna)                                                  
                                                                                
Agriculture: including fishing and forestry, accounts for about                 
75% of GDP; mostly subsistence farming; cash crops--cocoa, beans,               
coconuts, palm kernels, timber; other products--rice, potatoes,                 
vegetables, fruit, cattle, pigs; not self-sufficient in food grains;            
90% of the total fish catch of 44,500 metric tons was exported (1988)           
                                                                                
Economic aid: Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral                 
commitments (1985), $16.1 million                                               
                                                                                
Currency: Solomon Islands dollar (plural--dollars);                             
1 Solomon Islands dollar (SI$) = 100 cents                                      
                                                                                
Exchange rates: Solomon Islands dollars (SI$) per US$1--2.5934                  
(January 1991), 2.5288 (1990), 2.2932 (1989), 2.0825 (1988), 2.0033             
(1987), 1.7415 (1986), 1.4808 (1985)                                            
                                                                                
Fiscal year: calendar year                                                      
                                                                                
COMMUNICATIONS                                                                  
Highways: about 2,100 km total (1982); 30 km sealed, 290 km gravel,             
980 km earth, 800 private logging and plantation roads of varied                
construction                                                                    
                                                                                
Ports: Honiara, Ringi Cove                                                      
                                                                                
Civil air: no major transport aircraft                                          
                                                                                
Airports: 31 total, 29 usable; 2 with permanent-surface runways;                
none with runways over 2,439 m; 2 with runways 1,220-2,439 m                    
                                                                                
Telecommunications: 3,000 telephones; stations--4 AM, no FM, no TV;             
1 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT earth station                                          
                                                                                
DEFENSE FORCES                                                                  
Branches: Police Force                                                          
                                                                                
Manpower availability: males 15-49, 77,169; NA fit for military                 
service                                                                         
                                                                                
Defense expenditures: $NA, NA% of GDP                                           
                                                                                
