 |
Map of Solomon Islands |
Country Name
|
Solomon
Islands
|
Capital: name
|
Honiara
|
Independence
|
7
July 1978 (from the UK)
|
National holiday
|
Independence
Day, 7 July (1978)
|
Population
|
584,578
(July 2012 est.)
|
Sex ratio
|
1.05
male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.95 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2011 est.) |
Nationality
|
Solomon
Islander(s)
|
Religions
|
Protestant
73.7% (Church of Melanesia 32.8%, South Seas Evangelical 17%, Seventh-Day
Adventist 11.2%, United Church 10.3%, Christian Fellowship Church 2.4%),
Roman Catholic 19%, other Christian 4.4%, other 2.4%, unspecified 0.3%, none
0.2% (1999 census)
|
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
|
Location
|
Oceania,
group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Papua New Guinea
|
Geographic coordinates
|
8
00 S, 159 00 E
|
Map references
|
Oceania
|
Area
|
total:
28,896
sq km
land: 27,986 sq km
water: 910 sq km
|
Area - comparative
|
slightly
smaller than Maryland
|
Land boundaries
|
0
km
|
Coastline
|
5,313
km
|
Maritime claims
|
measured
from claimed archipelagic baselines
territorial
sea:
12 nm
exclusive
economic zone:
200 nm
continental
shelf:
200 nm
|
Climate
|
tropical
monsoon; few extremes of temperature and weather
|
Terrain
|
mostly
rugged mountains with some low coral atolls
|
Elevation extremes
|
lowest
point: Pacific
Ocean 0 m
highest
point:
Mount Popomanaseu 2,310 m
|
Natural resources
|
fish,
forests, gold, bauxite, phosphates, lead, zinc, nickel
|
Land use
|
arable
land: 0.62%
permanent
crops:
2.04%
other: 97.34% (2005)
|
Irrigated land
|
NA
|
Total renewable water resources
|
44.7
cu km (1987)
|
Natural hazards
|
typhoons,
but rarely destructive; geologically active region with frequent earthquakes,
tremors, and volcanic activity; tsunamis
volcanism: 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
|
deforestation;
soil erosion; many of the surrounding coral reefs are dead or dying
|
Environment - international agreements
|
party
to: 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:
none of the selected agreements
|
Geography - note
|
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
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