Solomon Islands
GANG INFORMATION
PROFILE
OFFICIAL NAME:
Solomon Islands
Geography
Area: Land--27,556 sq. km. (11,599 sq. mi.). Archipelago--725,197
sq. km. (280,000 sq. mi.).
Cities: Capital--Honiara (on the island of Guadalcanal), pop.
30,000. Other towns--Gizo, Auki, Kirakira.
Terrain: Mountainous islands.
Climate: Tropical monsoon.
People
Nationality: Noun and adjective--Solomon Islander(s).
Population (2005): 538,000.
Annual growth rate: 2.68%.
Ethnic groups (2002): Melanesian 93%, Polynesian 4%, Micronesian
1.5%, other 1.5%.
Religions: Christian 95%--more than one-third Anglican (Archdiocese
of Melanesia), Roman Catholic 19%, South Sea Evangelical 17%,
United Church (Methodist) 11%, Seventh-day Adventist 10%.
Languages: English (official); about 120 vernaculars, including
Solomon Islands pidgin.
Education (2002): Years compulsory--none. Attendance--85% primary
school; 14% secondary school. Adult literacy--64%.
Health (2002): Infant mortality rate--21/1,000. Life expectancy--72.7
yrs.
Work force (264,900, 2002): Agriculture--75%. Industry and commerce--5%.
Services--20%.
Government
Type: Parliamentary democracy within the Commonwealth.
Constitution: May 1978.
Independence: July 7,1978.
Branches: Executive--British monarch represented by a governor
general (head of state); prime minister (head of government).
Legislative--50-member Parliament elected every 4 years. Judicial--high
court plus magistrates court; system of custom land courts throughout
islands.
Subdivisions: Nine provinces and Honiara town.
Political parties: United Party, People's Alliance Party, National
Front for Progress, SAS Party, Liberal Party.
Suffrage: Universal over 18.
National holiday: July 7.
Economy
GDP (2003): $215 million.
Annual growth rate (2001-2003): minus 15%.
Per capita income (2003): $425.
Avg. inflation rate (2002): 9.0%.
Natural resources: Forests, fish, agricultural land, marine products,
gold.
Agriculture: Products--copra, cocoa, palm oil, palm kernels and
subsistence crops of yams, taro, bananas, pineapple.
Industry: Types--fish canning, sawmilling, boats, rattan and wood
furniture, fiberglass products, shell jewelry, tobacco, beer,
clothing, soap, nails, handicrafts.
Trade (2003): Exports--$116 million (a 28% drop from 1999): fish,
logs and timber, cocoa, copra. Major markets--China 26%, Japan
18%, South Korea 14%, Philippines 10%, Thailand 6%, Singapore
6%. Imports--$120 million: machinery and transport equipment,
fuel, food and beverages. Major suppliers--Australia 28%, Singapore
24%, New Zealand 5%, Papua New Guinea 4%, Japan 3%, United States
2%.
Exchange rate (2003 average): Solomon Islands $1=about U.S.$0.13.
GEOGRAPHY
The Solomon Islands form an archipelago in the Southwest Pacific
about 1,900 kilometers (1,200 mi.) northeast of Australia. With
terrain ranging from ruggedly mountainous islands to low-lying
coral atolls, the Solomons stretch in a 1,450-kilometer (900 mi.)
chain southeast from Papua New Guinea across the Coral Sea to
Vanuatu.
The main islands of Choiseul, New Georgia, Santa Isabel, Guadalcanal,
Malaita, and Makira have rainforested mountain ranges of mainly
volcanic origin, deep narrow valleys, and coastal belts lined
with coconut palms and ringed by reefs. The smaller islands are
atolls and raised coral reefs, often spectacularly beautiful.
The Solomon Islands region is geologically active, and earth tremors
are frequent.
The islands' ocean-equatorial climate is extremely humid throughout
the year, with a mean temperature of 27° C (80° F) and
few extremes of temperature or weather. June through August is
the cooler period. Though seasons are not pronounced, the northwesterly
winds of November through April bring more frequent rainfall and
occasional squalls or cyclones. The annual rainfall is about 305
centimeters (120 in.).
More than 90% of the islands traditionally was forested, but
this has come under pressure from current logging operations.
The coastal strips are sheltered by mangrove and coconut trees.
Luxuriant rainforest covers the interiors of the large islands.
Soil quality ranges from extremely rich volcanic to relatively
infertile limestone. More than 230 varieties of orchids and other
tropical flowers brighten the landscape.
PEOPLE
The Solomon Islanders comprise diverse cultures, languages, and
customs. Of its 496,000 persons, 93.3% are Melanesian, 4% Polynesian,
and 1.5% Micronesian. In addition, small numbers of Europeans
and Chinese are registered. About 120 vernacular languages are
spoken.
Most people reside in small, widely dispersed settlements along
the coasts. Sixty percent live in localities with fewer than 200
persons, and only 10% reside in urban areas.
The capital city of Honiara, situated on Guadalcanal, the largest
island, has over 30,000 inhabitants. The other principal towns
are Gizo, Auki, and Kirakira.
Most Solomon Islanders are Christian, with the Anglican, Roman
Catholic, South Seas Evangelical, and Seventh-day Adventist faiths
predominating. About 5% of the population maintain traditional
beliefs.
The chief characteristics of the traditional Melanesian social
structure are:
The practice of subsistence economy;
The recognition of bonds of kinship, with important obligations
extending beyond the immediate family group; local and clan loyalties
far outweigh regional or national affiliations.
Generally egalitarian relationships, emphasizing acquired rather
than inherited status; and
A strong attachment of the people to the land.
Most Solomon Islanders maintain this traditional social structure
and find their roots in village life.
HISTORY
Although little prehistory of the Solomon Islands is known, material
excavated on Santa Ana, Guadalcanal, and Gawa indicates that a
hunter-gatherer people lived on the larger islands as early as
1000 B.C. Some Solomon Islanders are descendants of Neolithic
Austronesian-speaking peoples who migrated from Southeast Asia.
The European discoverer of the Solomons was the Spanish explorer
Alvaro de Mendana Y Neyra, who set out from Peru in 1567 to seek
the legendary Isles of Solomon. British mariner Philip Carteret
entered Solomon waters in 1767. In the years that followed, visits
by explorers were more frequent.
Missionaries began visiting the Solomons in the mid-1800s. They
made little progress at first, because "blackbirding"--the
often brutal recruitment of laborers for the sugar plantations
in Queensland and Fiji--led to a series of reprisals and massacres.
The evils of the labor trade prompted the United Kingdom to declare
a protectorate over the southern Solomons in 1893. In 1898 and
1899, more outlying islands were added to the protectorate; in
1900 the remainder of the archipelago, an area previously under
German jurisdiction, was transferred to British administration.
Under the protectorate, missionaries settled in the Solomons,
converting most of the population to Christianity.
In the early 20th century, several British and Australian firms
began large-scale coconut planting. Economic growth was slow,
however, and the islanders benefited little. With the outbreak
of World War II, most planters and traders were evacuated to Australia,
and most cultivation ceased.
From May 1942, when the Battle of the Coral Sea was fought, until
December 1943, the Solomons were almost constantly a scene of
combat. Although U.S. forces landed on Guadalcanal virtually unopposed
in August 1942, they were soon engaged in a bloody fight for control
of the islands' airstrip, which the U.S. forces named Henderson
Field. One of the most furious sea battles ever fought took place
off Savo Island, near Guadalcanal, also in August 1942. Before
the Japanese completely withdrew from Guadalcanal in February
1943, over 7,000 Americans and 21,000 Japanese died. By December
1943, the Allies were in command of the entire Solomon chain.
The large-scale American presence toward the end of the war, which
dwarfed anything seen before in the islands, triggered various
millennial movements and left a lasting legacy of friendship.
Postwar Developments
Following the end of World War II, the British colonial government
returned. The capital was moved from Tulagi to Honiara to take
advantage of the infrastructure left behind by the U.S. military.
A native movement known as the Marching Rule defied government
authority. There was much disorder until some of the leaders were
jailed in late 1948. Throughout the 1950s, other indigenous dissident
groups appeared and disappeared without gaining strength.
In 1960, an advisory council of Solomon Islanders was superseded
by a legislative council, and an executive council was created
as the protectorate's policymaking body. The council was given
progressively more authority.
In 1974, a new constitution was adopted establishing a parliamentary
democracy and ministerial system of government. In mid-1975, the
name Solomon Islands officially replaced that of British Solomon
Islands Protectorate. On January 2, 1976, the Solomons became
self-governing, and independence followed on July 7, 1978.
GOVERNMENT
The Solomon Islands is a parliamentary democracy within the Commonwealth,
with a unicameral Parliament and a ministerial system of government.
The British monarch is represented by a governor general, chosen
by the Parliament for a 5-year term. The national Parliament has
50 members, elected for 4-year terms. However, Parliament may
be dissolved by majority vote of its members before the completion
of its term. Parliamentary representation is based on single-member
constituencies. Suffrage is universal for citizens over age 18.
The prime minister, elected by Parliament, chooses the other members
of the cabinet. Each ministry is headed by a cabinet member, who
is assisted by a permanent secretary, a career public servant,
who directs the staff of the ministry.
For local government, the country is divided into 10 administrative
areas, of which nine are provinces administered by elected provincial
assemblies, and the 10th is the town of Honiara, administered
by the Honiara Town Council.
Land ownership is reserved for Solomon Islanders. At the time
of independence, citizenship was granted to all persons whose
parents are or were both British protected persons and members
of a group, tribe, or line indigenous to the Solomon Islands.
The law provides that resident expatriates, such as the Chinese
and Kiribati, may obtain citizenship through naturalization. Land
generally is still held on a family or village basis and may be
handed down from mother or father according to local custom. The
islanders are reluctant to provide land for nontraditional economic
undertakings, and this has resulted in continual disputes over
land ownership.
No military forces are maintained by the Solomon Islands, although
the police force of nearly 500 includes a border protection element.
The police also have responsibility for fire service, disaster
relief, and maritime surveillance. The police force is headed
by a commissioner, appointed by the Governor General and responsible
to the prime minister. The current commissioner is an Australian
funded by assistance.
POLITICAL CONDITIONS
Solomon Islands governments are characterized by weak political
parties and highly unstable parliamentary coalitions. They are
subject to frequent votes of no confidence, and government leadership
changes frequently as a result. Cabinet changes are common.
The first post-independence government was elected in August
1980. Prime Minister Peter Kenilorea was head of government until
September 1981, when he was succeeded by Solomon Mamaloni as the
result of a realignment within the parliamentary coalitions. Following
the November 1984 elections, Kenilorea was again elected Prime
Minister, to be replaced in 1986 by his former deputy Ezekiel
Alebua following shifts within the parliamentary coalitions. The
next election, held in early 1989, returned Solomon Mamaloni as
Prime Minister. Francis Billy Hilly was elected Prime Minister
following the national elections in June 1993, and headed the
government until November 1994 when a shift in parliamentary loyalties
brought Solomon Mamaloni back to power.
The national election of August 6, 1997 resulted in Bartholomew
Ulufa'alu’s election as Prime Minister, heading a coalition
government, which christened itself the Solomon Islands Alliance
for Change.
However, governance was slipping as the performance of the police
and other government agencies deteriorated due to ethnic rivalries.
The capital of Honiara on Guadalcanal was increasingly populated
by migrants from the island of Malaita. In June 2002, an insurrection
mounted by militants from the island of Malaita resulted in the
brief detention of Ulufa’alu and his subsequent forced resignation.
Manasseh Sogavare, leader of the People's Progressive Party, was
chosen Prime Minister by a loose coalition of parties. Guadalcanal
militants retaliated and sought to drive Malaitan settlers from
Guadalcanal, resulting in the closure of a large oil-palm estate
and gold mine which were vital to exports but whose workforce
was largely Malaitan.
New elections in December 2001 brought Sir Allan Kemakeza into
the Prime Minister’s chair with the support of a coalition
of parties.
Kemakeza attempted to address the deteriorating law and order
situation in the country, but the prevailing atmosphere of lawlessness,
widespread extortion, and ineffective police, prompted a formal
request by the Solomon Islands Government for outside help. With
the country bankrupt and the capital in chaos, the request was
unanimously supported in Parliament. In July 2003, Australian
and Pacific Island police and troops arrived in the Solomon Islands
under the auspices of the Australian-led Regional Assistance Mission
to Solomon Islands (RAMSI).
RAMSI is largely a policing effort with an important development
component. It has restored order to virtually all parts of the
nation and is now embarked on rebuilding government institutions,
particularly the police, and reviving the economy, which fell
by at least a third during the troubles. The effort promises to
take many years and Solomon Islands will continue to require substantial
donor support. Moreover, as militants, former police, and political
leaders are brought to trial for their crimes during the unrest,
some local resentment is likely to cut somewhat into the now-widespread
support for the intervention.
Principal Government Officials
Governor General--Nathaniel Waena
Prime Minister--Allan Kemakeza
Minister for Foreign Affairs--Laurie Chan
The Solomon Islands mission to the United Nations is located
at 800 Second Avenue, Suite 400L, New York, NY 10017 (tel: 212-599-6192/93;
fax: 212-661-8925).
ECONOMY
Its per capita GDP of $340 ranks Solomon Islands as a lesser developed
nation, and more than 75% of its labor force is engaged in subsistence
farming and fishing. Until 1998, when world prices for tropical
timber fell steeply, timber was Solomon Islands main export product,
and, in recent years, Solomon Islands forests were dangerously
overexploited. Other important cash crops and exports include
copra and palm oil. In 1998 Ross Mining of Australia began producing
gold at Gold Ridge on Guadalcanal. Minerals exploration in other
areas continued. However in the wake of the ethnic violence in
June 2000, exports of palm oil and gold ceased while exports of
timber fell.
Exploitation of Solomon Islands' rich fisheries offers the best
prospect for further export and domestic economic expansion. However,
a Japanese joint venture, Solomon Taiyo Ltd., which operated the
only fish cannery in the country, closed in mid-2000 as a result
of the ethnic disturbances. Though the plant has reopened under
local management, the export of tuna has not resumed. Negotiations
are underway which may lead to the eventual reopening of the Gold
Ridge mine and the major oil-palm plantation, but each would take
years.
Tourism, particularly diving, is an important service industry
for Solomon Islands. Growth in that industry is hampered, however,
by lack of infrastructure and transportation limitations.
Solomon Islands was particularly hard hit by the Asian economic
crisis even before the ethnic violence of June 2000. The Asian
Development Bank estimates that the crash of the market for tropical
timber reduced Solomon Island's GDP by between 15%-25%. About
one-half of all jobs in the timber industry were lost. The government
has said it will reform timber harvesting policies with the aim
of resuming logging on a more sustainable basis.
The Solomon Islands Government was insolvent by 2002. Since the
RAMSI intervention in 2003, the government has recast its budget,
and has taken a hard look at priorities. It has consolidated and
renegotiated its domestic debt and with Australian backing, is
now seeking to renegotiate its foreign obligations. Much work
remains to be done.
Principal aid donors are Australia, New Zealand, the European
Union, Japan, and the Republic of China.
FOREIGN RELATIONS
Countries with diplomatic missions in the Solomon Islands are
Australia, United Kingdom, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and
Japan. The Solomon Islands also has diplomatic relations with
the Republic of China, which has a resident representative in
Honiara.
The U.S. Ambassador resident in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea,
also is accredited to Solomon Islands. The Solomon Islands' Permanent
Representative to the United Nations also is accredited as its
ambassador to the United States and Canada.
Relations with Papua New Guinea, which had become strained because
of an influx of refugees from the Bougainville rebellion and attacks
on the northern islands of the Solomon Islands by elements pursuing
Bougainvillean rebels, have been repaired. A peace accord on Bougainville
confirmed in 1998 has removed the armed threat, and the two nations
regularized border operations in a 2004 agreement.
Membership in International Organizations
Solomon Islands is a member of the United Nations, Commonwealth,
South Pacific Commission, South Pacific Forum, International Monetary
Fund, and the European Economic Community/African, Caribbean,
Pacific Group (EEC/ACP)/(Lome Convention).
U.S.-SOLOMON ISLANDS RELATIONS
The United States and Solomon Islands established diplomatic relations
following its independence on July 7, 1978. U.S. representation
is handled by the United States Embassy at Port Moresby where
the Ambassador is resident. In recognition of the close ties forged
between the United States and the people of the Solomon Islands
during World War II, the U.S. Congress financed the construction
of the Solomon Islands Parliament building. There are approximately
95 American citizens residing permanently in Solomon Islands.
The two nations belong to a variety of regional organizations,
including the South Pacific Commission and the South Pacific Regional
Environmental Program. The United States and Solomon Islands also
cooperate under the U.S.-Pacific Islands multilateral Tuna Fisheries
Treaty, under which the U.S. grants $18 million per year to Pacific
island parties and the latter provide access to U.S. fishing vessels.
A United States National Marine Fisheries Service Officer works
with the South Pacific Forum Fisheries Agency in Honiara. The
United States also supports efforts to protect biodiversity in
the Solomon Islands. In addition to supporting the establishment
of local conservation areas, the United States supports the International
Coral Reef Initiative aimed at protecting reefs in tropical nations
such as Solomon Islands.
U.S. military forces, through the Pacific Theater Command in
Honolulu, Hawaii, carry out annual bilateral meetings as well
as small-scale exercises with the Solomon Islands Police Border
Protection Force. The U.S. also provides appropriate military
education and training courses to national security officials.
The U.S. Peace Corps suspended its program in June 2000 due to
the ethnic violence and breakdown in governance. More than 70
volunteers, serving throughout the country in rural community
development, education, environmental management, and youth programs,
were evacuated.
U.S. trade with Solomon Islands is very limited. In 2001 U.S.
exports to Solomon Islands were less than 5% of all exports, while
Solomon Islands exports to the United States in that year were
negligible.
Principal U.S. Embassy Officials
Ambassador--Robert Fitts (resident in Port Moresby, Papua New
Guinea)
Consular Agent--Ms. Keithie Sauders (office phone 677 23426 or
mobile 677 94731)
American Embassy Port Moresby is located on Douglas Street, Port
Moresby, Papua New Guinea, P.O. Box 1492, Port Moresby (tel: (675)
321-1455; fax: (675) 321-3423). The Embassy maintains a web site
dedicated to Solomon Islands at http://www.usvpp-solomonislands.org/
TRAVEL AND BUSINESS INFORMATION
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Printing Office, telephone: 202-512-1800; fax 202-512-2250.
Emergency information concerning Americans traveling abroad may
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Customer service representatives and operators for TDD/TTY are
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Travelers can check the latest health information with the U.S.
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A hotline at 877-FYI-TRIP (877-394-8747) and a web site at http://www.cdc.gov/travel/index.htm
give the most recent health advisories, immunization recommendations
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for regions and countries. A booklet entitled Health Information
for International Travel (HHS publication number CDC-95-8280)
is available from the U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington,
DC 20402, tel. (202) 512-1800.
Information on travel conditions, visa requirements, currency
and customs regulations, legal holidays, and other items of interest
to travelers also may be obtained before your departure from a
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see "Principal Government Officials" listing in this
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U.S. citizens who are long-term visitors or traveling in dangerous
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or at the Consular section of the U.S. embassy upon arrival in
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Further Electronic Information
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