Geography

10,985 sq miles (28,450 sq km) comprised of a group of Islands in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Papua New Guinea.  The Islands are located on sea routes between the South Pacific Ocean, the Solomon Sea, and the Coral Sea.

Terrain is mostly rugged mountains with some low coral atolls.

Population

494,786 (July 2002 est.)

Melanesian 93%, Polynesian 4%, Micronesian 1.5%, European 0.8%, Chinese 0.3%, other 0.4%

Languages

Melanesian pidgin in much of the country is lingua franca; English is official but spoken by only 1%-2% of the population

Note: 120 indigenous languages

Capital

Honiara

Political Status

The UK established a protectorate over the Solomon Islands in the 1890s. Some of the most bitter fighting of World War II occurred on these islands. Self-government was achieved in 1976 and independence two years later. Ethnic violence, government malfeasance, and endemic crime have undermined stability and civil society.

Parliamentary democracy tending toward anarchy

Religion

Anglican 45%, Roman Catholic 18%, United (Methodist/Presbyterian) 12%, Baptist 9%, Seventh-Day Adventist 7%, other Protestant 5%, indigenous beliefs 4%

Within Solomon Islands

Charles & Barbara Dugnolle

Within Asia &
The Pacific

Around the World