Solomon Islands
|
| Basic Facts |
| Country name |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Solomon Islands local long form: none local short form: Solomon Islands former: British Solomon Islands |
| Gevernment type | parliamentary democracy |
| Capital |
name: Honiara
geographic coordinates: 9 26 S, 159 57 E time difference: UTC+11 (16 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
| Flag description | 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 |
| Currency | Solomon Islands dollar (SBD) |
| Internet country code | .sb |
| Ports and terminals | Honiara, Malloco Bay, Shortland Harbor, Viru Harbor, Yandina |
| Agriculture products | cocoa beans, coconuts, palm kernels, rice, potatoes, vegetables, fruit; timber; cattle, pigs; fish |
| Industries | fish (tuna), mining, timber |
| Geography |
| Location | Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Papua New Guinea |
| Coordinates | 8 00 S, 159 00 E |
| Continent | Oceania |
| Area |
total: 28,450 sq km
land: 27,540 sq km water: 910 sq km |
| Boundaries | 0 km |
| Coastline | 5,313 km |
| 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, lead, zinc, nickel |
| Natural hazards | typhoons, but rarely destructive; geologically active region with frequent earth tremors; volcanic activity |
| People |
| Population | 552,438 (July 2006 est.) |
| Ethnic groups | Melanesian 94.5%, Polynesian 3%, Micronesian 1.2%, other 1.1%, unspecified 0.2% (1999 census) |
| Religions | 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 census) |
| Languages | Melanesian pidgin in much of the country is lingua franca; English is official but spoken by only 1%-2% of the population
note: 120 indigenous languages |
