221 lines
18 KiB
Plaintext
221 lines
18 KiB
Plaintext
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SOLOMON ISLANDS
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GEOGRAPHY
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Total area: 28,450 km2; land area: 27,540 km2
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Comparative area: slightly larger than Maryland
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Land boundaries: none
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Coastline: 5,313 km
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Maritime claims: (measured from claimed archipelagic baselines);
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Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm;
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Territorial sea: 12 nm
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Climate: tropical monsoon; few extremes of temperature and weather
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Terrain: mostly rugged mountains with some low coral atolls
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Natural resources: fish, forests, gold, bauxite, phosphates
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Land use: arable land 1%; permanent crops 1%; meadows and pastures
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1%; forest and woodland 93%; other 4%
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Environment: subject to typhoons, which are rarely destructive;
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geologically active region with frequent earth tremors
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Note: located just east of Papua New Guinea in the South Pacific
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Ocean
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PEOPLE
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Population: 347,115 (July 1991), growth rate 3.5% (1991)
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Birth rate: 40 births/1,000 population (1991)
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Death rate: 5 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
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Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
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Infant mortality rate: 39 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
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Life expectancy at birth: 67 years male, 72 years female (1991)
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Total fertility rate: 6.2 children born/woman (1991)
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Nationality: noun--Solomon Islander(s); adjective--Solomon Islander
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Ethnic divisions: Melanesian 93.0%, Polynesian 4.0%, Micronesian
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1.5%, European 0.8%, Chinese 0.3%, other 0.4%
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Religion: almost all at least nominally Christian; Anglican 34%,
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Roman Catholic 19%, Baptist 17%, United (Methodist/Presbyterian) 11%,
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Seventh-Day Adventist 10%, other Protestant 5%
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Language: 120 indigenous languages; Melanesian pidgin in much of
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the country is lingua franca; English spoken by 1-2% of population
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Literacy: NA% (male NA%, female NA%)
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Labor force: 23,448 economically active; agriculture, forestry, and
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fishing 32.4%; services 25%; construction, manufacturing, and mining
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7.0%; commerce, transport, and finance 4.7% (1984)
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Organized labor: NA, but most of the cash-economy workers have
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trade union representation
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GOVERNMENT
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Long-form name: none
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Type: independent parliamentary state within Commonwealth
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Capital: Honiara
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Administrative divisions: 7 provinces and 1 town*; Central,
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Guadalcanal, Honiara*, Isabel, Makira, Malaita, Temotu, Western
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Independence: 7 July 1978 (from UK; formerly British Solomon
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Islands)
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Constitution: 7 July 1978
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Legal system: common law
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National holiday: Independence Day, 7 July (1978)
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Executive branch: British monarch, governor general, prime
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minister, Cabinet
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Legislative branch: unicameral National Parliament
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Judicial branch: High Court
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Leaders:
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Chief of State--Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952),
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represented by Governor General George LEPPING (since 27 June 1989,
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previously acted as governor general since 7 July 1988);
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Head of Government--Prime Minister Solomon MAMALONI (since 28
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March 1989);
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Deputy Prime Minister Sir Baddeley DEVESI (since NA October 1990)
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Political parties and leaders:
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People's Alliance Party (PAP);
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United Party (UP), Sir Peter KENILOREA;
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Solomon Islands Liberal Party (SILP), Bartholemew ULUFA'ALU;
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Nationalist Front for Progress (NFP), Andrew NORI;
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Labor Party (LP), Joses TUHANUKU
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Suffrage: universal at age 21
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Elections:
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National Parliament--last held 22 February 1989 (next to be held
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February 1993);
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results--percent of vote by party NA;
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seats--(38 total) PAP 13, UP 6, NFP 4, SILP 4, LP 2, independents 9
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Member of: ACP, AsDB, C, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD,
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IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, IOC, ITU, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UPU, WFTU, WHO,
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WMO
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Diplomatic representation: Ambassador (vacant) resides in Honiara
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(Solomon Islands);
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US--the ambassador in Papua New Guinea is accredited to the
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Solomon Islands; Embassy at Mud Alley, Honiara (mailing address is
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American Embassy, P. O. Box 561, Honiara); telephone (677) 23890
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Flag: divided diagonally by a thin yellow stripe from the lower
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hoist-side corner; the upper triangle (hoist side) is blue with five
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white five-pointed stars arranged in an X pattern; the lower
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triangle is green
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ECONOMY
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Overview: About 90% of the population depend on subsistence
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agriculture, fishing, and forestry for at least part of their livelihood.
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Agriculture, fishing, and forestry contribute about 75% to GDP, with the
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fishing and forestry sectors being important export earners. The service
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sector contributes about 25% to GDP. Most manufactured goods and
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petroleum products must be imported. The islands are rich in undeveloped
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mineral resources such as lead, zinc, nickel, and gold. The economy
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suffered from a severe cyclone in mid-1986 that caused widespread damage
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to the infrastructure.
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GDP: $156 million, per capita $500 (1988); real growth rate 5.0%
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(1990 est.)
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Inflation rate (consumer prices): 10.8% (1989)
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Unemployment rate: NA%
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Budget: revenues $44 million; expenditures $45 million,
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including capital expenditures of $22 million (1989 est.)
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Exports: $75 million (f.o.b., 1989);
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commodities--fish 46%, timber 31%, copra 5%, palm oil 5%;
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partners--Japan 51%, UK 12%, Thailand 9%, Netherlands 8%, Australia
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2%, US 2% (1985)
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Imports: $94 million (f.o.b., 1989);
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commodities--plant and machinery 30%, fuel 19%, food 16%;
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partners--Japan 36%, US 23%, Singapore 9%, UK 9%, NZ 9%, Australia
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4%, Hong Kong 4%, China 3% (1985)
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External debt: $128 million (1988 est.)
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Industrial production: growth rate 0% (1987); accounts for 5%
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of GDP
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Electricity: 21,000 kW capacity; 39 million kWh produced,
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115 kWh per capita (1990)
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Industries: copra, fish (tuna)
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Agriculture: including fishing and forestry, accounts for about
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75% of GDP; mostly subsistence farming; cash crops--cocoa, beans,
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coconuts, palm kernels, timber; other products--rice, potatoes,
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vegetables, fruit, cattle, pigs; not self-sufficient in food grains;
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90% of the total fish catch of 44,500 metric tons was exported (1988)
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Economic aid: Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral
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commitments (1985), $16.1 million
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Currency: Solomon Islands dollar (plural--dollars);
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1 Solomon Islands dollar (SI$) = 100 cents
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Exchange rates: Solomon Islands dollars (SI$) per US$1--2.5934
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(January 1991), 2.5288 (1990), 2.2932 (1989), 2.0825 (1988), 2.0033
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(1987), 1.7415 (1986), 1.4808 (1985)
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Fiscal year: calendar year
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COMMUNICATIONS
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Highways: about 2,100 km total (1982); 30 km sealed, 290 km gravel,
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980 km earth, 800 private logging and plantation roads of varied
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construction
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Ports: Honiara, Ringi Cove
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Civil air: no major transport aircraft
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Airports: 31 total, 29 usable; 2 with permanent-surface runways;
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none with runways over 2,439 m; 2 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
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Telecommunications: 3,000 telephones; stations--4 AM, no FM, no TV;
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1 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT earth station
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DEFENSE FORCES
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Branches: Police Force
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Manpower availability: males 15-49, 77,169; NA fit for military
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service
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Defense expenditures: $NA, NA% of GDP
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