Solomon Islands

• most of the population lives along the coastal regions;
• about one in five live in urban areas, and of these some two-thirds reside in Honiara, the largest town and chief port

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

volcanism:

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

noun:

Solomon Islander(s)

adjective:

Solomon Islander

• most of the population lives along the coastal regions;
• about one in five live in urban areas, and of these some two-thirds reside in Honiara, the largest town and chief port

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:

1.07 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.88 male(s)/female

total population:

1.04 male(s)/female (2020 est.)

degree of risk:

high (2020)

food or waterborne diseases:

bacterial diarrhea

vectorborne diseases:

malaria

• deforestation;
• soil erosion;
• many of the surrounding coral reefs are dead or dying;
• effects of climate change and rising sea levels

party to:

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling

signed, but not ratified:

Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban

particulate matter emissions:

10.67 micrograms per cubic meter (2016 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions:

0.17 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions:

0.43 megatons (2020 est.)

urban population:

25.1% of total population (2021)

rate of urbanization:

3.57% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

degree of risk:

high (2020)

food or waterborne diseases:

bacterial diarrhea

vectorborne diseases:

malaria

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)

etymology:

the name derives from "nagho ni ara," which in one of the Guadalcanal languages roughly translates as "facing the eastern wind"

history:

• adopted 31 May 1978, effective 7 July 1978;
• note - in late 2017, provincial leaders agreed to adopt a new federal constitution, with passage expected in 2018, but it has been postponed indefinitely

amendments:

• proposed by the National Parliament;
• passage of constitutional sections, including those on fundamental rights and freedoms, the legal system, Parliament, alteration of the constitution and the ombudsman, requires three-fourths majority vote by Parliament and assent of the governor general;
• passage of other amendments requires two-thirds majority vote and assent of the governor general;
• amended several times, last in 2018;
• note - a new constitution was drafted in mid-2009 and the latest version drafted in 2013

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 David VUNAGI (since 8 July 2019)

head of government:

Prime Minister Rick HOU (since 16 November 2017)

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) defeated in no-confidence vote on 6 November 2017; Rick HOU elected prime minister on 15 November 2017

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 3 April 2019 (next to be held in 2023)

election results:

• percent of vote by party - UDP 10.7%, DAP 7.8%, PAP 4.4%, other 20.8%, independent 56.3%;
• seats by party - DAP 7, UDP 5, PAP 3, KPSI 1, SIPFP 1, SIPRA 1, independent 32;
• composition - men 49, women 1, percent of women 2%

highest courts:

• Court of Appeal (consists of the court president and ex officio members including 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 and includes 5 members, mostly judicial officials and legal professionals;
• all judges serve 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 [Peter BOYERS]
• People's Alliance Party or PAP [Nathaniel WAENA]
• Solomon Islands People First Party or SIPFP [Dr. Jimmie RODGERS]
• Solomon Islands Party for Rural Advancement or SIPRA [Manasseh MAELANGA]
• United Democratic Party or UDP [Sir Thomas Ko CHAN]

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

chief of mission:

Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Janice Mose KEMAKEZA

chancery:

685 Third Avenue, 11th Floor, Suite 1102, New York, NY 10017

telephone:

[1] (212) 599-6192; [1] (212) 599-6193

FAX:

[1] (212) 661-8925

email address and website:

[email protected]

• 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

agriculture:

75%

industry:

5%

services:

20% (2000 est.)

total:

1.3%

male:

1%

female:

1.6% (2013)

lowest 10%:

NA

highest 10%:

NA

• Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation (SIBC) does not broadcast television;
• multi-channel pay-TV is available;
• SIBC operates 2 national radio stations and 2 provincial stations;
• there are 2 local commercial radio stations;
• Radio Australia is available via satellite feed (since 2009) (2019)

number of registered air carriers:

1 (2020); inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 6

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

427,806 (2018)

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

3.84 million mt-km (2018)

total:

1,390 km (2011)

paved:

34 km (2011)

unpaved:

1,356 km (2011)

note: includes 920 km of private plantation roads