|
Source: CIA World Factbook
|
Capital
|
name: Honiara
geographic coordinates: 9 26 S, 159 57 E
time difference: UTC+11 (16 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
|
Country Name
|
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Solomon Islands
local long form: none
local short form: Solomon Islands
former: British Solomon Islands
|
Dependency Status
|
*
|
Type of Government
|
parliamentary democracy and a Commonwealth realm
|
Background
|
The UK established a protectorate over the Solomon Islands in the 1890s. Some of the most bitter fighting of World War II occurred on this archipelago. Self-government was achieved in 1976 and independence two years later. Ethnic violence, government malfeasance, and endemic crime have undermined stability and civil society. In June 2003, then Prime Minister Sir Allan KEMAKEZA sought the assistance of Australia in reestablishing law and order; the following month, an Australian-led multinational force arrived to restore peace and disarm ethnic militias. The Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI) has generally been effective in restoring law and order and rebuilding government institutions.
|
Branches
|
no regular military forces; Solomon Islands Police Force (2009)
|
Age Structure
|
0-14 years: 38.8% (male 120,695/female 115,891)
15-64 years: 57.7% (male 177,725/female 173,848)
65 years and over: 3.5% (male 10,206/female 11,429) (2010 est.)
|
Languages
|
Melanesian pidgin in much of the country is lingua franca; English (official but spoken by only 1%-2% of the population); 120 indigenous languages
|
Population
|
609,794 (July 2010 est.)
|
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)
|
Internet Users
|
10,000 (2008)
|
Area - Comparative
|
slightly smaller than Maryland
|
Area
|
total: 28,896 sq km
land: 27,986 sq km
water: 910 sq km
|
Terrain
|
mostly rugged mountains with some low coral atolls
|
Climate
|
tropical monsoon; few extremes of temperature and weather
|
Natural Hazards
|
typhoons, but rarely destructive; geologically active region with frequent earthquakes, tremors, and volcanic activity; tsunamis
|
