 Solomon Islands
Facts and Figures
Source: CIA World Factbook |
| Coordinates |
8 00 S, 159 00 E |
| Area |
total: 28,450 sq km land: 27,540 sq km water: 910 sq km |
| Climate |
tropical monsoon; few extremes of temperature and weather |
| Terrain |
mostly rugged mountains with some low coral atolls |
| Population |
566,842 (July 2007 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 |
| Imports |
food, plant and equipment, manufactured goods, fuels, chemicals |
| Exports |
timber, fish, copra, palm oil, cocoa |
| Hazards |
typhoons, but rarely destructive; geologically active region with frequent earthquakes, tremors, and volcanic activity; tsunamis |
| Resources |
fish, forests, gold, bauxite, phosphates, lead, zinc, nickel |
| Geography |
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 |
| Nationality |
noun: Solomon Islander(s) adjective: Solomon Islander |
| Capital |
name: Honiara geographic coordinates: 9 26 S, 159 57 E time difference: UTC+11 (16 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
| Internet Country Code |
.sb |
| Internet Users |
8,400 (2005) |
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