Solomon Islands

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Solomon Islands's Information


Capital	Honiara
Languages	Melanesian pidgin (in much of the country is lingua franca), English (official but spoken by only 1%-2% of the population), 120 indigenous languages
Ethnic Groups	Melanesian 95.3%, Polynesian 3.1%, Micronesian 1.2%, other 0.3% (2009 est.)
Religion	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.)
Government	Parliamentary democracy (National Parliament) under a constitutional monarchy; a Commonwealth realm
Independance	7 July 1978 (from the UK)
Area	28,896.00 km²
Water Area	910.00 km²
Land Area	27,986.00 km²
Population	635,027.00
Location	Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Papua New Guinea
GDP(PPP)	$1,198,000,000.00 (USD)
GDP (Per Capita)	$2,000.00 (USD)
Export Partners	Its major export partners are China, India, and Italy.
Export Commodities	Its main exports are timber, fish, copra, palm oil, and cocoa.
Import Partners	Its major import partners are Australia, China, and Malaysia.
Import Commodities	Its major imports include food, plant and equipment, and manufactured goods.
Climate	Principally desert; northeast monsoon (December to February), moderate temperatures in north and hot in south; southwest monsoon (May to October), torrid in the north and hot in the south, irregular rainfall, hot and humid periods (tangambili) between monsoons
Terrain	Mostly rugged mountains with some low coral atolls

Where is Solomon Islands?

Located in Oceania, Solomon Islands is an island nation. It has a 5,313.00 km coastline.

?The capital city of the Solomon Islands is Honiara. It is found along Kukum Highway. River Matanikau flows through Honiara. Honiara has an equatorial climate which is primarily tropical rainforest. It is hot and humid during most parts of the year. Around 84,520 people live in Honiara.

Geography

Solomon Islands has a mean elevation of 0 m above sea level.

It has a desert climate with northeast monsoons from December to February and southwest monsoons from May to October. Its terrain is mae up of rugged mountains with some low coral atolls.

Population

Solomon Islands has a population of 635,027 making it the 167th largest in the world.

Melanesian is the most commonly spoken language. The major ethnic group is described as Melanesian. The majority of the population identifies as Protestant Christian.

The official language spoken in the Solomon Islands is English. However, most residents of the country speak Melanesian languages. Melanesian languages are linguistically part of the Austronesian languages. They have more vowels than consonants in their word formation. Besides Melanesian languages, the minority languages include Lengo, Gela, Ghari, Cheke Holo, Micronesian, and Polynesian languages.

The dialing code for the country is 677.

Government

Solomon Islands is an independent country. It gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1978. Its constitution was last ratified in 1978.

The government in the Solomon Islands is a monarch ruled by Queen Elizabeth. Besides the queen, the country has a governor general and prime minister. Both the prime minister and the governor general reside in Honiara while the queen lives in the United Kingdom’s royal palaces. Elections are held every four years in the Solomon Islands. The people elect 50 members to parliament. The members represent the 50 constituencies in the country and can only serve for one four-year term.

Economy

Factoring in Purchasing Power Parity, Solomon Islands's GDP is $1,198,000,000.00 (USD) with $2,000.00 (USD) per capita. This makes it the 201st largest economy and its citizens the 197th richest in the world. The currency of Solomon Islands is the Dollar (SBD).

Its major export partners are China, India, and Italy. Its main exports are timber, fish, copra, palm oil, and cocoa. Its major import partners are Australia, China, and Malaysia. Its major imports include food, plant and equipment, and manufactured goods.

Flag

The Solomon Islands was a British Protectorate before its independence. During those times when the country was known as British Solomon Islands, five flags were used. From 1893 to 1906, the flag used was identical to the British Union Jack. Then between 1906 and 1947, the flag had the Union Jack at its top left. The rest of the flag was blue and had Tudor’s Crown with the name “British Solomon Islands” imprinted on it. From 1947 to 1955, the flag was the same as the previous one except for a shield that replaced the Tudor’s Crown. The shield had a picture of a sea turtle and the name of the country. Between 1956 and 1966, the only difference made on the flag was the addition of an eagle, lion, frigate bird, and weapons on the shield of the flag. The shield had a white disk surrounding it. The flag used before the current one was similar to that used from 1956 to 1966 save for the removal of the white disk.