Solomon Islands (2001) | Guam (2005) | |
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Administrative divisions | 7 provinces and 1 town*; Central, Guadalcanal, Honiara*, Isabel, Makira, Malaita, Temotu, Western; note - there may be two new provinces of Choiseul (Lauru) and Rennell/Bellona and the administrative unit of Honiara may have been abolished | none (territory of the US) |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
43.79% (male 107,229; female 103,162) 15-64 years: 53.15% (male 129,315; female 126,021) 65 years and over: 3.06% (male 7,190; female 7,525) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 29.4% (male 25,645/female 23,887)
15-64 years: 64.1% (male 55,115/female 52,935) 65 years and over: 6.5% (male 5,157/female 5,825) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cocoa, beans, coconuts, palm kernels, rice, potatoes, vegetables, fruit; cattle, pigs; timber; fish | fruits, copra, vegetables; eggs, pork, poultry, beef |
Airports | 31 (2000 est.) | 5 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 4
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
29 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 18 (2000 est.) |
total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Area | total:
28,450 sq km land: 27,540 sq km water: 910 sq km |
total: 549 sq km
land: 549 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maryland | three times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | The UK established a protectorate over the Solomon Islands in the 1890s. Some of the bitterest fighting of World War II occurred on these islands. Self-government was achieved in 1976 and independence two years later. Current issues include government deficits, deforestation, and malaria control. | Guam was ceded to the US by Spain in 1898. Captured by the Japanese in 1941, it was retaken by the US three years later. The military installation on the island is one of the most strategically important US bases in the Pacific. |
Birth rate | 34.05 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 19.03 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$147 million expenditures: $168 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997 est.) |
revenues: $340 million
expenditures: $445 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | Honiara | Hagatna (Agana) |
Climate | tropical monsoon; few extremes of temperature and weather | tropical marine; generally warm and humid, moderated by northeast trade winds; dry season from January to June, rainy season from July to December; little seasonal temperature variation |
Coastline | 5,313 km | 125.5 km |
Constitution | 7 July 1978 | Organic Act of 1 August 1950 |
Country name | conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Solomon Islands former: British Solomon Islands |
conventional long form: Territory of Guam
conventional short form: Guam local long form: Guahan |
Currency | Solomon Islands dollar (SBD) | - |
Death rate | 4.27 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 4.41 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $152.4 million (1998) | NA |
Dependency status | - | organized, unincorporated territory of the US with policy relations between Guam and the US under the jurisdiction of the Office of Insular Affairs, US Department of the Interior |
Diplomatic representation from the US | the US does not have an embassy in Solomon Islands (embassy closed July 1993); the ambassador to Papua New Guinea is accredited to the Solomon Islands | none (territory of the US) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires ad interim Jeremiah MANELE chancery: 800 Second Avenue, Suite 400L, New York, NY 10017 telephone: [1] (212) 599-6192, 6193 FAX: [1] (212) 661-8925 |
none (territory of the US) |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $47 million (1999 est.), mainly from Japan, Australia, China, and NZ | Guam receives large transfer payments from the US Federal Treasury ($143 million in 1997) into which Guamanians pay no income or excise taxes; under the provisions of a special law of Congress, the Guam Treasury, rather than the US Treasury, receives federal income taxes paid by military and civilian Federal employees stationed in Guam (2001 est.) |
Economy - overview | The bulk of the population depends on agriculture, fishing, and forestry for at least part of their livelihood. Most manufactured goods and petroleum products must be imported. The islands are rich in undeveloped mineral resources such as lead, zinc, nickel, and gold. However, severe ethnic violence, the closing of key business enterprises, and an empty government treasury have led to a continuing economic downslide. Deliveries of crucial fuel supplies (including those for electrical generation) by tankers have become sporadic due to the government's inability to pay and attacks against ships. Telecommunications are threatened by the lack of technical and maintenance staff many of whom have left the country. | The economy depends on US military spending, tourism, and the export of fish and handicrafts. Total US grants, wage payments, and procurement outlays amounted to $1 billion in 1998. Over the past 20 years, the tourist industry has grown rapidly, creating a construction boom for new hotels and the expansion of older ones. More than 1 million tourists visit Guam each year. The industry had recently suffered setbacks because of the continuing Japanese slowdown; the Japanese normally make up almost 90% of the tourists. Most food and industrial goods are imported. Guam faces the problem of building up the civilian economic sector to offset the impact of military downsizing. |
Electricity - consumption | 27.9 million kWh (1999) | 776.6 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 30 million kWh (1999) | 835 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Makarakomburu 2,447 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Lamlam 406 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion; much of the surrounding coral reefs are dead or dying | extirpation of native bird population by the rapid proliferation of the brown tree snake, an exotic, invasive species |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
- |
Ethnic groups | Melanesian 93%, Polynesian 4%, Micronesian 1.5%, European 0.8%, Chinese 0.3%, other 0.4% | Chamorro 37.1%, Filipino 26.3%, other Pacific islander 11.3%, white 6.9%, other Asian 6.3%, other ethnic origin or race 2.3%, mixed 9.8% (2000 census) |
Exchange rates | Solomon Islands dollars per US dollar - 5.0968 (November 2000), 5.0864 (2000), 4.8381 (1999), 4.8156 (1998), 3.7169 (1997), 3.5664 (1996) | the US dollar is used |
Executive branch | chief of state:
Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Father John LAPLI (since NA 1999) head of government: Prime Minister Mannaseh Damukana SOGAVARE (since 1 July 2000); Assistant Prime Minister Nathaniel WAENA (since 1 July 2000); Deputy Prime Minister Allan KEMAKEZA (since 1 July 2000); note - Prime Minister Bartholomew ULUFA'ALU was forced to resign his position in June 2000 following the armed takeover of the capital by elements supporting the opposition parties; Mannaseh Damukana SOGAVARE, who had been opposition leader, was then elected prime minister at a sitting of National Parliament on 30 June 2000 cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister from among the members of Parliament elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the advice of Parliament for up to five years; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of a majority coalition is usually elected prime minister by Parliament; deputy prime minister appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister from among the members of Parliament |
chief of state: President George W. BUSH of the US (since 20 January 2001); Vice President Richard B. CHENEY (since 20 January 2001)
head of government: Governor Felix P. P. CAMACHO (since 6 January 2003) and Lieutenant Governor Kaleo MOYLAN (since 6 January 2003) cabinet: executive departments; heads appointed by the governor with the consent of the Guam legislature elections: US president and vice president elected on the same ticket for a four-year term; governor and lieutenant governor elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year term; election last held 5 November 2002 (next to be held November 2006) election results: Felix P. P. CAMACHO elected governor; percent of vote - Felix P. P. CAMACHO (Republican Party) 55.4%, Robert A. UNDERWOOD (Democratic Party) 44.6% |
Exports | $165 million (f.o.b., 1999 est.) | NA |
Exports - commodities | timber, fish, palm oil, cocoa, copra | mostly transshipments of refined petroleum products; construction materials, fish, food and beverage products |
Exports - partners | Japan 35.5%, other Asian countries 47.3% (1999) | Japan 66.1%, South Korea 9.9%, Singapore 8.4% (2004) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 October - 30 September |
Flag description | divided diagonally by a thin yellow stripe from the lower hoist-side corner; the upper triangle (hoist side) is blue with five white five-pointed stars arranged in an X pattern; the lower triangle is green | territorial flag is dark blue with a narrow red border on all four sides; centered is a red-bordered, pointed, vertical ellipse containing a beach scene, outrigger canoe with sail, and a palm tree with the word GUAM superimposed in bold red letters; US flag is the national flag |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $900 million (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
50% industry: 3.5% services: 46.5% (1995) |
agriculture: 7%
industry: 15% services: 78% (2002 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,000 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $21,000 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 1% (2000 est.) | NA |
Geographic coordinates | 8 00 S, 159 00 E | 13 28 N, 144 47 E |
Geography - note | - | largest and southernmost island in the Mariana Islands archipelago; strategic location in western North Pacific Ocean |
Highways | total:
1,360 km paved: 34 km unpaved: 1,326 km (includes about 800 km of private plantation roads) (1996 est.) |
total: 977 km
paved: 962 km unpaved: 15 km (2004) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Imports | $152 million (f.o.b., 1999 est.) | NA |
Imports - commodities | plant and equipment, manufactured goods, food and live animals, fuels, chemicals | petroleum and petroleum products, food, manufactured goods |
Imports - partners | Australia 38.5%, Singapore 15%, Japan 10.6%, NZ 6.2% (1999) | Singapore 39.5%, South Korea 20.8%, Japan 19%, Hong Kong 9%, Philippines 4.3% (2004) |
Independence | 7 July 1978 (from UK) | none (territory of the US) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA |
Industries | fish (tuna), mining, timber | US military, tourism, construction, transshipment services, concrete products, printing and publishing, food processing, textiles |
Infant mortality rate | 24.47 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 6.94 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 7.61 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.24 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 10% (1999 est.) | 0% (1999 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, AsDB, C, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), IOC, ITU, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTrO | Interpol (subbureau), IOC, UPU |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | NA |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeal | Federal District Court (judge is appointed by the president); Territorial Superior Court (judges appointed for eight-year terms by the governor) |
Labor force | 26,842 | 60,000 (2000 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% | private 74% (industry 10%, trade 24%, other services 40%), federal and territorial government 26% (2000 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land:
1% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 1% forests and woodland: 88% other: 9% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 9.09%
permanent crops: 16.36% other: 74.55% (2001) |
Languages | Melanesian pidgin in much of the country is lingua franca, English spoken by 1%-2% of population
note: 120 indigenous languages |
English 38.3%, Chamorro 22.2%, Philippine languages 22.2%, other Pacific island languages 6.8%, Asian languages 7%, other languages 3.5% (2000 census) |
Legal system | English common law | modeled on US; US federal laws apply |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Parliament (50 seats; members elected from single member constituencies by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 6 August 1997 (next to be held by August 2001) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - GNUR 21, PAP 7, NAPSI 5, SILP 4, UP 4, independents 6, other 3 |
unicameral Legislature (15 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve two-year terms)
elections: last held 2 November 2004 (next to be held November 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Democratic Party 6, Republican Party 9 note: Guam elects one nonvoting delegate to the US House of Representatives; election last held 2 November 2004 (next to be held November 2006); results - Madeleine BORDALLO (Democratic Party) was elected as delegate; percent of vote by party - Democratic Party 64.6%, Republican Party 35.4%; seats by party - Democratic Party 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
71.55 years male: 69.12 years female: 74.1 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 78.4 years
male: 75.34 years female: 81.64 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
NA total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (1990 est.) |
Location | Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Papua New Guinea | Oceania, island in the North Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to the Philippines |
Map references | Oceania | Oceania |
Maritime claims | measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
continental shelf: 200 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | none (2000 est.) | - |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the US |
Military branches | no regular military forces; Solomon Islands National Reconnaissance and Surveillance Force; Royal Solomon Islands Police (RSIP) | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 7 July (1978) | Discovery Day, first Monday in March (1521) |
Nationality | noun:
Solomon Islander(s) adjective: Solomon Islander |
noun: Guamanian(s)
adjective: Guamanian |
Natural hazards | typhoons, but they are rarely destructive; geologically active region with frequent earth tremors; volcanic activity | frequent squalls during rainy season; relatively rare, but potentially very destructive typhoons (June - December) |
Natural resources | fish, forests, gold, bauxite, phosphates, lead, zinc, nickel | fishing (largely undeveloped), tourism (especially from Japan) |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | there are two main coalitions - Coalition for National Unity, Reconciliation, and Peace or CNURP and Alliance for Change; the CNURP took power on 30 June 2000, it comprises members of the Liberal Party, People's Alliance Party, and the United Party, as well as a number of independents; the Alliance for Change, represents the former government and now is the opposition; in general, Solomon Islands politics is characterized by fluid coalitions; Group for National Unity and Reconciliation or GNUR [leader NA]; Liberal Party [Bartholomew ULUFA'ALU]; National Action Party of Solomon Islands or NAPSI [Francis SAEMALA]; People's Alliance Party or PAP [George LEPPING]; People's Progressive Party [Mannaseh Damukana SOGAVARE]; Solomon Islands Labor Party or SILP [Joses TUHANUKU]; United Party or UP [leader NA] | Democratic Party [leader Michael PHILLIPS]; Republican Party (controls the legislature) [leader Philip J. FLORES] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 480,442 (July 2001 est.) | 168,564 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 23% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.98% (2001 est.) | 1.46% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Aola Bay, Honiara, Lofung, Noro, Viru Harbor, Yandina | Apra Harbor |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 3, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 4, FM 7, shortwave 2 (2003) |
Radios | 57,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | - |
Religions | Anglican 34%, Roman Catholic 19%, Baptist 17%, United (Methodist/Presbyterian) 11%, Seventh-Day Adventist 10%, other Protestant 5%, indigenous beliefs 4% | Roman Catholic 85%, other 15% (1999 est.) |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.96 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.88 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 21 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal; US citizens, but do not vote in US presidential elections |
Telephone system | general assessment:
NA domestic: NA international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
general assessment: modern system, integrated with US facilities for direct dialing, including free use of 800 numbers
domestic: modern digital system, including cellular mobile service and local access to the Internet international: country code - 1-671; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean); submarine cables to US and Japan (Guam is a trans-Pacific communications hub for MCI, Sprint, AT&T, IT&E, and GTE, linking the US and Asia) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 8,000 (1997) | 84,134 (2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 658 (1997) | 32,600 (2001) |
Television broadcast stations | 0 (1997) | 5 (1997) |
Terrain | mostly rugged mountains with some low coral atolls | volcanic origin, surrounded by coral reefs; relatively flat coralline limestone plateau (source of most fresh water), with steep coastal cliffs and narrow coastal plains in north, low hills in center, mountains in south |
Total fertility rate | 4.65 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.6 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 15% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | none | - |