International airport(s) Honiara International Airport, Lungga
Official language(s) English
Currency Solomon Islands dollar (SBD)
Time UTC +11
Region Pacific
GeographyClimateEconomyCulture
Solomon Islands consists of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands to the east of Papua New Guinea and northwest of Vanuatu. Many of the islands are notable for their steep mountains. The highest mountain, Makarakomburu (2 293 m), is located on Guadalcanal Island, which also hosts the capital city, Honiara. In addition to rocky islands, there are also several atolls and reef islands. Several dormant and two active volcanoes can also be found on its territory. Dense tropical rainforest covers 90 per cent of land area, making the Solomon Islands the sixth most forest covered land in the world -— – ‒ - – —--— – ‒ - – —--— – ‒ - – —--— – ‒ - – —-.
Solomon Islands have an equatorial hot and humid climate with a rainy season lasting from December to April. Tropical storms and occasional cyclones can occur during this period. In 2002, Cyclone Zoë hit the isolated islands of Tikopia and Anuta. The monthly average temperature is about 25‐26 °C with only minor variations between highs of 30 °C and lows of 23 °C. Average annual rainfall is 3 000 mm but can vary across the archipelago. -— – ‒ - – —--— – ‒ - – —--— – ‒ - – —--— – ‒ - – —-
The Solomon Islands can have 60 to 70 earthquakes a year. Most of them are small, but there are also some severe quakes followed by tsunamis and aftershocks. In recent years, the most severe have hit the Western Solomons (8.1 magnitude) in 2007 and the Santa Cruz Islands (8.0 magnitude) in 2013. The country is fifth on the list of most at‐risk countries according to the United Nations University -— – ‒ - – —--— – ‒ - – —--— – ‒ - – —--— – ‒ - – —- World Risk Index.
Agriculture, forestry and fisheries provide jobs for almost 40 per cent of employment -— – ‒ - – —--— – ‒ - – —--— – ‒ - – —--— – ‒ - – —-, while accounting for about 25 per cent of GDP -— – ‒ - – —--— – ‒ - – —--— – ‒ - – —--— – ‒ - – —-. The islands are rich in mineral resources such as lead, zinc, nickel and gold, but the deposits remain largely undeveloped. Export products also include wood (Ramin or Teak), tuna and palm oil. The main export partners include China, Italy and India, followed by Thailand and the Philippines. With investment in infrastructure and transport, tourism could be further developed beyond its current volume of inbound tourism expenditure of only 6 per cent over GDP -— – ‒ - – —--— – ‒ - – —--— – ‒ - – —--— – ‒ - – —-. In 2019, services already provided more than half of jobs in the Solomon Islands -— – ‒ - – —--— – ‒ - – —--— – ‒ - – —--— – ‒ - – —-. The Tina River Hydropower Project aims at eliminating energy dependency on imported fossil fuels to locally produced renewable energy.
Solomon Islands' arts and crafts reflect styles specific to different islands and cover woven objects, carved wood, stone and shell items. Traditional music in Solomon Islands is often performed by slit drum and panpipe ensembles.
The local cuisine has developed over the history of the islands with many external influences. 'Ulu' is breadfruit that may be served with any dish. As a result of agriculture and fishing, residents eat a lot of fish, coconut, sweet potato and a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, such as bananas wrapped in pearl cassavas. A local specialty called 'Poi' is made with fermented taro roots and served during festivities.
Sport is an important part of Solomon Island culture. Football is the most popular sport in the country, but cricket, Australian football, rugby and horse racing are also popular. In the international sphere, the most successful national teams are its beach soccer team ‐ 'the Bilikiki Boys' ‐ and the futsal team ‐ 'the Kurukuru'. Both of these teams have managed to win the Oceanian Championship and qualified for their respective FIFA World Cups. The Solomon Islands has participated in the Summer Olympic Games since 1984.
Land areakm2
Arable land%
Forest area%
Coastline lengthkm
Exclusive economic zonekm2
Nearest neighbourkm
Economic trendsMaritime transportPopulationInternational tradeEnvironmentInformation and communications technology
Gross domestic product US dollars at constant prices (2015) in millions
GDP per capita
2019
US$
Productive Capacity Index
2018
Economic and environmental vulnerability index
2019
Consumer Price Index growth
2019
%
Unemployment rate
Total % Female %, Male %
Main economic sectors, 2019 Percentage of GDP
Tourist arrivals Thousands of tourists, percentage of GDP
External financial resources Percentage of GDP
Public debt as % of GDP
2018
%
Fleet size Number of ships
Ship type
2011
2019
Total fleet
1 407
1 407
Oil tankers
264
266
Bulk carriers
311
333
General cargo
161
77
Container ships
52
49
Other types of ships
619
682
Port performance Ranked by 2019 data within SIDS group
Indicators
2019
SIDS Ranking
Number of port calls
187
28
Median time in port (days)
1
8
Average age of vessels
11
33
Average size (GT) of vessels
17 189
18
Container port throuput
2019
TEU
Bilateral connectivity index, 2019 Top 5 partners
Liner shipping connectivity index Maximum China Q1 2006=100
Total population Thousands of people, share of urban population
Population development indicators
Indicators
Period
Value
Poverty headcount (% of population)
2012
24.7
Human development index
2018
0.6
Human assets index
2020
72
Adult literacy rate (15+ years, both sexes %)
..
..
Gender inequality index
2010
0.8
Life expectancy at birth
years
Population density
2019
persons per km2
Dependency ratio
2019
Child: Old-age:
Age structure by gender, 2019 Percentage of total population
Merchandise and services trade US dollars in millions
Indicators
2005
2010
2015
2019
2019 (% of GDP)
Merchandise exports
103
224
400
461
35.4
Merchandise imports
185
404
466
590
45.3
Services exports
41
92
105
128
9.8
Services imports
58
188
183
241
18.5
Trade openness Goods and services
% of GDP
Export concentration index
2019
Food import dependency Average 2015-2019
Top 5 partners in merchandise trade, 2019 Exports in millions US dollars
Merchandise exports by product group, 2019
Services exports by category, 2019
CO2 emissions per capita Kg per capita
CO2 emissions per GDP Kg per 2010 US$ of GDP
Renewable energy share in total energy consumption, 2017 Percentage of total energy consumption
Material footprint per capita
2016
kg
Terrestrial protected area
2018
%
Marine protected area
2018
%
Disasters indicators
Data not available
Trade in ICT goods
Exports: % Imports: %
Trade in ICT services
Exports: % Imports: %
Share of internet users
%
Fixed broadband vs Mobile broadband subscriptions Number of subscriptions per 100 people
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