"text":"The UK established a protectorate over the Solomon Islands in the 1890s. Some of the bitterest fighting of World War II occurred on this archipelago. Self-government was achieved in 1976 and independence two years later. Ethnic violence, government malfeasance, endemic crime, and a narrow economic base 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."
}
},
"Geography":{
"Location":{
"text":"Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Papua New Guinea"
},
"Geographic coordinates":{
"text":"8 00 S, 159 00 E"
},
"Map references":{
"text":"Oceania"
},
"Area":{
"total":{
"text":"28,896 sq km"
},
"land":{
"text":"27,986 sq km"
},
"water":{
"text":"910 sq km"
}
},
"Area - comparative":{
"text":"slightly smaller than Maryland"
},
"Land boundaries":{
"text":"0 km"
},
"Coastline":{
"text":"5,313 km"
},
"Maritime claims":{
"text":"measured from claimed archipelagic baselines",
"territorial sea":{
"text":"12 nm"
},
"exclusive economic zone":{
"text":"200 nm"
},
"continental shelf":{
"text":"200 nm"
}
},
"Climate":{
"text":"tropical monsoon; few temperature and weather extremes"
},
"Terrain":{
"text":"mostly rugged mountains with some low coral atolls"
"text":"typhoons, but rarely destructive; geologically active region with frequent earthquakes, tremors, and volcanic activity; tsunamis",
"volcanism":{
"text":"Tinakula (elev. 851 m) has frequent eruption activity, while an eruption of Savo (elev. 485 m) could affect the capital Honiara on nearby Guadalcanal"
}
},
"Environment - current issues":{
"text":"deforestation; soil erosion; many of the surrounding coral reefs are dead or dying"
},
"Environment - international agreements":{
"party to":{
"text":"Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Whaling"
},
"signed, but not ratified":{
"text":"none of the selected agreements"
}
},
"Geography - note":{
"text":"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"
}
},
"People and Society":{
"Nationality":{
"noun":{
"text":"Solomon Islander(s)"
},
"adjective":{
"text":"Solomon Islander"
}
},
"Ethnic groups":{
"text":"Melanesian 95.3%, Polynesian 3.1%, Micronesian 1.2%, other 0.3% (2009 est.)"
},
"Languages":{
"text":"Melanesian pidgin (in much of the country is lingua franca), English (official but spoken by only 1%-2% of the population), 120 indigenous languages"
},
"Religions":{
"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%, none 0.03%, unspecified 0.1% (2009 est.)"
"text":"Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor General Frank KABUI (since 7 July 2009)"
},
"head of government":{
"text":"Prime Minister Manasseh SOGAVARE (since 9 December 2014)"
},
"cabinet":{
"text":"Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister"
},
"elections/appointments":{
"text":"the monarchy is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the advice of the National Parliament for up to 5 years (eligible for a second term); following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition usually elected prime minister by the National Parliament; deputy prime minister appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister from among members of the National Parliament"
},
"election results":{
"text":"Manasseh SOGAVARE (independent) elected prime minister; National Parliament vote - 31 to 19"
}
},
"Legislative branch":{
"description":{
"text":"unicameral National Parliament (50 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote to serve 4-year terms)"
},
"elections":{
"text":"last held on 19 November 2014 (next to be held in 2018)"
},
"election results":{
"text":"percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - independents 32, DAP 7, UDP 5, PAP 3, KPSI 1, SIPFP 1, SIPRA 1"
}
},
"Judicial branch":{
"highest court(s)":{
"text":"Court of Appeal (consists of the court president, and ex officio members to include the High Court chief justice and its puisne judges); High Court (consists of the chief justice and puisne judges as prescribed by the National Parliament)"
},
"judge selection and term of office":{
"text":"Court of Appeal and High Court president, chief justices, and puisne judges appointed by the governor-general upon recommendation of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission, chaired by the chief justice to include 5 members, mostly judicial officials and legal professionals; all judges appointed until retirement at age 60"
},
"subordinate courts":{
"text":"Magistrates' Courts; local courts; Customary Land Appeal Court"
}
},
"Political parties and leaders":{
"text":"Democratic Alliance Party or DAP [Steve ABANA] ++ Kadere Party of Solomon Islands or KPSI [Alfred LEGUA] ++ People's Alliance Party or PAP [Nathaniel WAENA] ++ Solomon Islands People First Party or SIPFP [Jimmie RODGERS] ++ Solomon Islands Party for Rural Advancement or SIPRA [Manasseh MAELANGA] ++ United Democratic Party [Thomas Ko CHAN]",
"note":{
"text":"in general, Solomon Islands politics is characterized by fluid coalitions"
}
},
"Political pressure groups and leaders":{
"text":"Isatabu Freedom Movement or IFM ++ Malaita Eagle Force or MEF",
"note":{
"text":"these rival armed ethnic factions crippled the Solomon Islands in a wave of violence from 1999 to 2003"
"text":"Ambassador Collin David BECK (since 31 March 2004)"
},
"chancery":{
"text":"800 Second Avenue, Suite 400L, New York, NY 10017"
},
"telephone":{
"text":"[1] (212) 599-6192, 6193"
},
"FAX":{
"text":"[1] (212) 661-8925"
}
},
"Diplomatic representation from the US":{
"text":"the US does not have an embassy in the Solomon Islands; the US ambassador to Papua New Guinea is accredited to the Solomon Islands"
},
"Flag description":{
"text":"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; blue represents the ocean; green the land; and yellow sunshine; the five stars stand for the five main island groups of the Solomon Islands"
"text":"Panapasa BALEKANA and Matila BALEKANA/Panapasa BALEKANA"
},
"note":{
"text":"adopted 1978"
}
}
},
"Economy":{
"Economy - overview":{
"text":"The bulk of the population depends on agriculture, fishing, and forestry for at least part of its livelihood. Most manufactured goods and petroleum products must be imported. The islands are rich in undeveloped mineral resources such as lead, zinc, nickel, and gold. Prior to the arrival of The Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI), severe ethnic violence, the closing of key businesses, and an empty government treasury culminated in economic collapse. RAMSI's efforts to restore law and order and economic stability have led to modest growth as the economy rebuilds."
"text":"Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation (SIBC) is the sole TV broadcaster with 1 station; multi-channel pay-TV is available; SIBC operates 2 national radio stations and 2 provincial stations; 2 local commercial radio stations; Radio Australia is available via satellite feed (2009)"
},
"Radio broadcast stations":{
"text":"AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 1 (2004)"
},
"Internet country code":{
"text":".sb"
},
"Internet users":{
"total":{
"text":"46,400"
},
"percent of population":{
"text":"7.6% (2014 est.)"
}
}
},
"Transportation":{
"Airports":{
"text":"36 (2013)"
},
"Airports - with paved runways":{
"total":{
"text":"1"
},
"1,524 to 2,437 m":{
"text":"1 (2013)"
}
},
"Airports - with unpaved runways":{
"total":{
"text":"35"
},
"1,524 to 2,437 m":{
"text":"1"
},
"914 to 1,523 m":{
"text":"10"
},
"under 914 m":{
"text":" ++ 24 (2013)"
}
},
"Heliports":{
"text":"3 (2013)"
},
"Roadways":{
"total":{
"text":"1,390 km"
},
"paved":{
"text":"34 km"
},
"unpaved":{
"text":"1,356 km"
},
"note":{
"text":"includes 920 km of private plantation roads (2011)"
}
},
"Ports and terminals":{
"major seaport(s)":{
"text":"Honiara, Malloco Bay, Viru Harbor, Tulaghi"
}
}
},
"Military":{
"Military branches":{
"text":"no regular military forces; Royal Solomon Islands Police Force (2013)"
},
"Manpower available for military service":{
"males age 16-49":{
"text":"142,913 (2010 est.)"
}
},
"Manpower fit for military service":{
"males age 16-49":{
"text":"118,921"
},
"females age 16-49":{
"text":"118,164 (2010 est.)"
}
},
"Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually":{
"male":{
"text":"6,483"
},
"female":{
"text":"6,098 (2010 est.)"
}
}
},
"Transnational Issues":{
"Disputes - international":{
"text":"since 2003, the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands, consisting of police, military, and civilian advisors drawn from 15 countries, has assisted in reestablishing and maintaining civil and political order while reinforcing regional stability and security"
},
"Trafficking in persons":{
"current situation":{
"text":"The Solomon Islands is a source and destination country for local adults and children and Southeast Asian men and women subjected to forced labor and forced prostitution; women from China, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines are recruited for legitimate work and upon arrival are forced into prostitution; men from Indonesia and Malaysia recruited to work in the Solomon Islands’ mining and logging industries may be subjected to forced labor; local children are forced into prostitution near foreign logging camps, on fishing vessels, and at hotel and other entertainment venues; some local children are also sold by their parents for marriage to foreign workers or put up for “informal adoption” and then find themselves forced into domestic servitude or forced prostitution"
},
"tier rating":{
"text":"Tier 2 Watch List – The Solomon Islands does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so; in 2013, the government passed but did not gazette implementing regulations for 2012 legislation prohibiting all forms of human trafficking; authorities investigated an unspecified number of labor trafficking cases in the fishing industry but did not prosecute or convict any suspected offenders or actively assist victims; the government did not allocate funding for national anti-trafficking efforts in 2013; the country lacks systematic procedures for identifying trafficking victims among high-risk groups and a formal mechanism for referring victims to care; civil society and religious organizations provide limited services to victims; no anti-trafficking awareness-raising campaigns were conducted in 2013 (2014)"
