Solomon Islands

agricultural land:

3.9%;

• arable land 0.7%;
• permanent crops 2.9%;
• permanent pasture 0.3%

forest:

78.9%

other:

17.2% (2011 est.)

• typhoons, but rarely destructive;
• geologically active region with frequent earthquakes, tremors, and volcanic activity;
• tsunamis

volcanism:

Tinakula (elev. 851 m) has frequent eruption activity, while an eruption of Savo (elev. 485 m) could affect the capital Honiara on nearby Guadalcanal

• deforestation;
• soil erosion;
• many of the surrounding coral reefs are dead or dying

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

• strategic location on sea routes between the South Pacific Ocean, the Solomon Sea, and the Coral Sea;
• on 2 April 2007 an undersea earthquake measuring 8.1 on the Richter scale occurred 345 km WNW of the capital Honiara;
• the resulting tsunami devastated coastal areas of Western and Choiseul provinces with dozens of deaths and thousands dislocated;
• the provincial capital of Gizo was especially hard hit

noun:

Solomon Islander(s)

adjective:

Solomon Islander

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.06 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

1.06 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

1.04 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

1.02 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.92 male(s)/female

total population:

1.04 male(s)/female (2016 est.)

conventional long form:

none

conventional short form:

Solomon Islands

local long form:

none

local short form:

Solomon Islands

former:

British Solomon Islands

etymology:

Spanish explorer Alvaro de MENDANA named the isles in 1568 after the wealthy biblical King SOLOMON in the mistaken belief that the islands contained great riches

name:

Honiara

geographic coordinates:

9 26 S, 159 57 E

time difference:

UTC+11 (16 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

citizenship by birth:

no

citizenship by descent only:

at least one parent must be a citizen of the Solomon Islands

dual citizenship recognized:

no

residency requirement for naturalization:

7 years

chief of state:

Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor General Frank KABUI (since 7 July 2009)

head of government:

Prime Minister Manasseh SOGAVARE (since 9 December 2014)

cabinet:

Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister

elections/appointments:

• the monarchy is hereditary;
• governor general appointed by the monarch on the advice of the National Parliament for up to 5 years (eligible for a second term);
• following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition usually elected prime minister by the National Parliament;
• deputy prime minister appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister from among members of the National Parliament

election results:

Manasseh SOGAVARE (independent) elected prime minister; National Parliament vote - 31 to 19

description:

unicameral National Parliament (50 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote to serve 4-year terms)

elections:

last held on 19 November 2014 (next to be held in 2018)

election results:

percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - independents 32, DAP 7, UDP 5, PAP 3, KPSI 1, SIPFP 1, SIPRA 1

highest court(s):

• Court of Appeal (consists of the court president, and ex officio members to include the High Court chief justice and its puisne judges);
• High Court (consists of the chief justice and puisne judges as prescribed by the National Parliament)

judge selection and term of office:

• Court of Appeal and High Court president, chief justices, and puisne judges appointed by the governor-general upon recommendation of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission, chaired by the chief justice to include 5 members, mostly judicial officials and legal professionals;
• all judges appointed until retirement at age 60

subordinate courts:

• Magistrates' Courts;
• Customary Land Appeal Court;
• local courts

• Democratic Alliance Party or DAP [Steve ABANA]
• Kadere Party of Solomon Islands or KPSI [Alfred LEGUA]
• People's Alliance Party or PAP [Nathaniel WAENA]
• Solomon Islands People First Party or SIPFP [Jimmie RODGERS]
• Solomon Islands Party for Rural Advancement or SIPRA [Manasseh MAELANGA]
• United Democratic Party [Thomas Ko CHAN]

note: in general, Solomon Islands politics is characterized by fluid coalitions

chief of mission:

Ambassador Collin David BECK (since 31 March 2004)

chancery:

800 Second Avenue, Suite 400L, New York, NY 10017

telephone:

[1] (212) 599-6192, 6193

FAX:

[1] (212) 661-8925

• 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;
• blue represents the ocean;
• green the land;
• and yellow sunshine;
• the five stars stand for the five main island groups of the Solomon Islands

name:

"God Save Our Solomon Islands"

lyrics/music:

Panapasa BALEKANA and Matila BALEKANA/Panapasa BALEKANA

note: adopted 1978

• cocoa, coconuts, palm kernels, rice, fruit;
• cattle, pigs;
• fish;
• timber

agriculture:

75%

industry:

5%

services:

20% (2000 est.)

lowest 10%:

NA%

highest 10%:

NA%

domestic:

mobile-cellular telephone density is about 65 per 100 persons

international:

country code - 677; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) (2015)

• Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation (SIBC) is the sole TV broadcaster with 1 station;
• multi-channel pay-TV is available;
• SIBC operates 2 national radio stations and 2 provincial stations;
• 2 local commercial radio stations;
• Radio Australia is available via satellite feed (2009)

number of registered air carriers:

1; inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 3

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

373,738

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

3,691,584 mt-km (2015)

total:

1,390 km

paved:

34 km

unpaved:

1,356 km

note: includes 920 km of private plantation roads (2011)

country comparison to the world: 179

current situation:

• the Solomon Islands is a source and destination country for local adults and children and Southeast Asian men and women subjected to forced labor and forced prostitution;
• women from China, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines are recruited for legitimate work and upon arrival are forced into prostitution;
• men from Indonesia and Malaysia recruited to work in the Solomon Islands’ mining and logging industries may be subjected to forced labor;
• local children are forced into prostitution near foreign logging camps, on fishing vessels, at hotels, and entertainment venues;
• some local children are also sold by their parents for marriage to foreign workers or put up for “informal adoption” to pay off debts and then find themselves forced into domestic servitude or forced prostitution

tier rating:

• Tier 2 Watch List – the Solomon Islands does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking;
• however, it is making significant efforts to do so;
• in 2014, the Solomon Islands was granted a waiver from an otherwise required downgrade to Tier 3 because its government has a written plan that, if implemented, would constitute making significant efforts to bring itself into compliance with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking;
• the government gazetted implementing regulations for the 2012 immigration act prohibiting transnational trafficking, but the penalties are not sufficiently stringent because they allow the option of paying a fine;
• a new draft law to address these weaknesses awaits parliamentary review;
• no new trafficking investigations were conducted, even after labor inspections at logging and fishing companies, no existing cases led to prosecutions or convictions, and no funding was allocated for national anti-trafficking efforts;
• authorities did not identify or protect any victims and lack any procedures or shelters to do so;
• civil society and religious organizations provide most of the limited services available;
• a lack of understanding of the crime of trafficking remains a serious challenge (2015)