Solomon Islands (country)

I

Introduction

Solomon Islands (country), constitutional monarchy and member of the Commonwealth of Nations, consisting of about 30 islands and numerous atolls in the South Pacific Ocean, east of New Guinea. The country includes most of the Solomon Islands group, notably Guadalcanal, New Georgia, Santa Isabel, Malaita, Choiseul, San Cristobal (Makira), and Vella Lavella, as well as Ontong Java (Lord Howe) Atoll, Rennell, and the Santa Cruz Islands. The total area is 27,556 sq km (10,639 sq mi).

II

Land

Solomon Islands is a mountainous country; the highest peak, Mount Popomanaseu on Guadalcanal, rises to an elevation of 2,331 m (7,648 ft). The mountains are of volcanic origin. The climate of Solomon Islands is hot and humid.

III

People

The population (2009 estimate) is 595,613. The capital and principal port is Honiara (population, 1990 estimate, 35,288), on Guadalcanal. Melanesians (see Melanesia) make up 93 percent of the population, with a small minority of Polynesians. Solomon Islands has a high birth rate, which has resulted in low literacy rates and a high level of unemployment. English is the official language, although Pidgin is more widely spoken; some 80 local languages are also used.

IV

Economy and Government

The chief products of Solomon Islands are copra, timber, rice, cacao, processed fish, sweet potatoes, plantains, pineapples, and trochus shells (used in making buttons and ornamental objects). Large deposits of bauxite and phosphate rock are found here, and alluvial gold is produced on Guadalcanal. In the early 1990s logging accounted for more than half of Solomon Islands' export earnings. However, forests are being logged at unsustainable levels. In 1994 the government proposed that a logging ban take effect beginning in 1997.

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The Solomon Islands is governed according to a 1978 constitution, which took effect when the country gained independence from Great Britain. Although fully independent, the Solomon Islands is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations that chooses to recognize the British monarch as its own sovereign and, as such, its symbolic head of state. Real power is vested in the prime minister, who is head of government. The prime minister is chosen by and must have the confidence of the nation's popularly elected 50-member unicameral parliament.

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