Solomon Islands

text

<p>Settlers from Papua arrived on the Solomon Islands around 30,000 years ago. About 6,000 years ago, Austronesian settlers came to the islands, and the two groups mixed extensively. Despite significant inter-island trade, no attempts were made to unite the islands into a single political entity. In 1568, a Spanish explorer became the first European to spot the islands. After a failed Spanish attempt at creating a permanent European settlement in the late 1500s, the Solomon Islands remained free of European contact until a British explorer arrived in 1767. European explorers and US and British whaling ships regularly visited the islands into the 1800s.<br><br>Germany declared a protectorate over the northern Solomon Islands in 1885, and the UK established a protectorate over the southern islands in 1893. In 1899, Germany transferred its islands to the UK in exchange for the UK relinquishing all claims in Samoa. In 1942, Japan invaded the islands, and the Guadalcanal Campaign (August 1942-February 1943) proved a turning point in the Pacific theater of WWII. The fighting destroyed large parts of the Solomon Islands, and a nationalist movement emerged near the end of the war. By 1960, the British allowed some local autonomy. The islands were granted self-government in 1976 and independence two years later under Prime Minister Sir Peter KENILOREA.<br><br>In 1999, longstanding tensions between ethnic Guale in Honiara and ethnic Malaitans in Honiara’s suburbs erupted in civil war, leading thousands of Malaitans to take refuge in Honiara and prompting Guale to flee the city. In 2000, newly elected Prime Minister Manasseh SOGAVARE focused on peace agreements and distributing resources equally among groups, but his actions bankrupted the government in 2001 and led to his ouster. In 2003, the Solomon Islands requested international assistance to reestablish law and order; the Australian-led Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands, which ended in 2017, improved the security situation. In 2006, however, riots broke out in Honiara, and the city’s Chinatown was burned amid allegations that the prime minister took money from China. SOGAVARE was reelected prime minister for a fourth time in 2019. When a small group of protestors, mostly from the island of Malaita, approached parliament to lodge a petition calling for SOGAVARE’s removal and more development in Malaita in 2021, police fired tear gas into the crowd which sparked rioting and looting in Honiara. </p>

text

Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Papua New Guinea

text

8 00 S, 159 00 E

text

Oceania

text

slightly smaller than Maryland

text

5,313 km

note

<strong>note: </strong>measured from claimed archipelagic baselines

text

tropical monsoon; few temperature and weather extremes

text

mostly rugged mountains with some low coral atolls

text

fish, forests, gold, bauxite, phosphates, lead, zinc, nickel

text

0 sq km (2022)

text

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

text

tropical cyclones, but rarely destructive; geologically active region with frequent earthquakes, tremors, and volcanic activity; tsunamis <br><br><strong>volcanism:</strong> Tinakula (851 m) has frequent eruption activity, and an eruption of Savo (485 m) could affect the capital Honiara on nearby Guadalcanal

text

strategic location on sea routes between the South Pacific Ocean, the Solomon Sea, and the Coral Sea; Rennell Island, the southernmost in the Solomon Islands chain, is one of the world&rsquo;s largest raised coral atolls; the island&rsquo;s Lake Tegano, formerly a lagoon on the atoll, is the largest lake in the insular Pacific (15,500 hectares; 38,300 acres)

text

Melanesian 95.3%, Polynesian 3.1%, Micronesian 1.2%, other 0.3% (2009 est.)

text

Melanesian pidgin (lingua franca in much of the country), English (official but spoken by only 1%-2% of the population), 120 indigenous languages

text

Protestant 73.4% (Church of Melanesia 31.9%, South Sea Evangelical 17.1%, Seventh Day Adventist 11.7%, United Church 10.1%, Christian Fellowship Church 2.5%), Roman Catholic 19.6%, other Christian 2.9%, other 4%, unspecified 0.1% (2009 est.)

text

1.62% (2025 est.)

text

21.57 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)

text

3.94 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)

text

-1.47 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)

text

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

text

82,000 HONIARA (capital) (2018)

text

22.6 years (2015 est.)

note

<strong>note:</strong> data represents median age at first birth among women 25-29

text

123 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)

text

2.72 children born/woman (2025 est.)

text

1.33 (2025 est.)

text

0.24 physicians/1,000 population (2023)

text

22.5% (2016)

text

64.5% (2019 est.)

text

deforestation; soil erosion; damage to coral reefs

text

tropical monsoon; few temperature and weather extremes

text

8.8 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

text

44.7 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

text

parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy; a Commonwealth realm

text

9 provinces and 1 city*; Central, Choiseul, Guadalcanal, Honiara*, Isabel, Makira and Ulawa, Malaita, Rennell and Bellona, Temotu, Western

text

mixed system of English common law and customary law

text

has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt

text

21 years of age; universal

text

Democratic Alliance Party or DAP<br>Kadere Party of Solomon Islands or KAD<br>Ownership, Unity, and Responsibility Party (OUR Party)<br>Solomon Islands People First Party or SIPFP<br>Solomon Islands Democratic Party or SIDP<br>Solomon Islands Party for Rural Advancement or SIPRA<br>Solomon Islands United Party or UP<br>United for Change Party or U4C<br>Coalition for Accountability Reform and Empowerment (CARE) (includes DAP, SIDP, and U4C)

note

<strong>note:</strong> the Solomon Islands political party system is characterized by fluid coalitions

text

ACP, ADB, AOSIS, C, EITI (candidate country), ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IOC, ITU, MIGA, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO

text

7 July 1978 (from the UK)

text

Independence Day, 7 July (1978)

text

<strong>description: </strong>divided diagonally by a yellow stripe from the lower-left corner; the upper triangle (left side) is blue with five five-pointed white stars in an "X" pattern; the lower triangle is green<br><br><strong>meaning:</strong> blue stands for the ocean, green for the land, and yellow for sunshine; the five stars stand for the main island groups

text

blue, yellow, green, white

text

lower middle-income Pacific island economy; natural resource rich but environmentally fragile; key agrarian sector; growing Chinese economic relationship; infrastructure damage due to social unrest; metal mining operations

note

<b>note:</b> data in 2021 dollars

note

<b>note:</b> annual GDP % growth based on constant local currency

note

<b>note:</b> data in 2021 dollars

text

$1.761 billion (2024 est.)

note

<b>note:</b> data in current dollars at official exchange rate

note

<b>note:</b> annual % change based on consumer prices

note

<b>note:</b> figures may not total 100% due to non-allocated consumption not captured in sector-reported data

note

<strong>note:</strong> figures may not total 100% due to rounding or gaps in data collection

text

oil palm fruit, coconuts, sweet potatoes, yams, taro, fruits, pulses, vegetables, cocoa beans, cassava (2023)

note

<b>note:</b> top ten agricultural products based on tonnage

text

fish (tuna), mining, timber

text

4.7% (2022 est.)

note

<b>note:</b> annual % change in industrial value added based on constant local currency

text

435,600 (2024 est.)

note

<b>note:</b> number of people ages 15 or older who are employed or seeking work

note

<b>note:</b> % of labor force seeking employment

note

<b>note:</b> % of labor force ages 15-24 seeking employment

note

<b>note:</b> personal transfers and compensation between resident and non-resident individuals/households/entities

note

<b>note:</b> central government revenues and expenses (excluding grants/extrabudgetary units/social security funds) converted to US dollars at average official exchange rate for year indicated

note

<b>note:</b> central government debt as a % of GDP

text

20.7% (of GDP) (2022 est.)

note

<b>note:</b> central government tax revenue as a % of GDP

note

<b>note:</b> balance of payments - net trade and primary/secondary income in current dollars

note

<b>note:</b> balance of payments - exports of goods and services in current dollars

text

China 56%, Australia 11%, Italy 10%, Spain 5%, Netherlands 4% (2023)

note

<b>note:</b> top five export partners based on percentage share of exports

text

wood, fish, gold, precious metal ore, palm oil (2023)

note

<b>note:</b> top five export commodities based on value in dollars

note

<b>note:</b> balance of payments - imports of goods and services in current dollars

text

China 42%, Singapore 13%, Australia 13%, Taiwan 5%, Malaysia 5% (2023)

note

<b>note:</b> top five import partners based on percentage share of imports

text

refined petroleum, plastic products, fish, broadcasting equipment, iron structures (2023)

note

<b>note:</b> top five import commodities based on value in dollars

note

<b>note:</b> holdings of gold (year-end prices)/foreign exchange/special drawing rights in current dollars

note

<b>note:</b> present value of external debt in current US dollars

text

multi-channel pay-TV is available; Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation (SIBC) operates 2 national radio stations and 2 provincial stations; 2 local commercial radio stations; Radio Australia is available via satellite (2019)

text

.sb

text

H4

text

36 (2025)

text

2 (2025)

text

Ministry of Police, National Security and Correctional Services (MPNSCS): the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force (RSIPF) (2025)

text

in 2017, the Solomon Islands and Australia signed a security treaty allowing Australian police, defense, and associated civilian personnel to deploy rapidly to Solomon Islands should the need arise and where both countries consent; the treaty was activated for the first time in November 2021 following civil unrest in Honiara; Australia was the first country Solomon Islands called upon for support, and from November 2021, Australia deployed police and defense personnel to work alongside partners from Fiji, Papua New Guinea, and New Zealand to restore law and order in Honiara<br><br>in 2022, the Solomon Islands Government has also signed a police and security agreement with China (2025)