The Solomon Islands is an archipelago located in the South Pacific Ocean. It has an area of 28,400 square kilometers and a population of approximately 646,000 people. The ethnic composition of the Solomon Islands is mainly Melanesian, with other minority groups including Polynesians, Micronesians and Europeans. The majority of the population are adherents to Christianity, with around 95% following the religion and the rest being either atheist or other faiths. Education is compulsory for children up to the age of 16 and the literacy rate is estimated to be around 87%. The official language is English but there are also many other languages spoken throughout the country such as Pijin, Melanesian Sign Language and Solomon Islands Sign Language. The capital city Honiara has an estimated population of over 54,000 people making it the largest city in Solomon Islands. Check hyperrestaurant to learn more about Solomon Islands in 2009.
Social conditions
In 2014, public expenditure on health care amounted to 4.6 percent of GDP. A significant portion of the population suffers from malaria; Diarrhea and malaria are common causes of death.
The traditional extended family system lives on and provides social security for the residents. At the same time, the traditional, collective ownership of the land is an obstacle to the modernization of the country’s business. The government has generously distributed forest harvesting permits to foreign companies. It has met with strong popular resistance. Solomon Islands probably has the most extensive mute economy in the Pacific. Corruption and economic illegality have become increasingly common, both at the government level and within the administration and the private sector. Visit AbbreviationFinder to see the definitions of SLB and acronym for Solomon Islands.
People and society
95.3 percent of the population are Melanesians, 3.1 percent are Polynesians and 1.2 percent are Micronesians (2000). In addition, there are Chinese and Europeans. 85 percent of the population lives in villages. More than 300 islands are inhabited.
Life expectancy at birth is 77.64 years for women and 72.27 years for men. 56.2 percent of the population is younger than 25 years (2014). About 10 percent of the population has blonde hair because of a gene variant. Check to see Solomon Islands population.
English is the official language. There are about 70 local languages and dialects as well as pidgin English.
73.4 percent of the population are Protestants while 16.5 percent are Roman Catholic. The rest belong to cultic faiths.
HISTORY
In the early years of the new century, the political instability of the archipelago degenerated into widespread violence and crime, fueled by the strong contrasts between the immigrants of the island of Malaita and the residents of Guadalcanal. Large-scale unrest erupted in early 2000 and, in June, a coup organized by the Malaita Eagle Force (MEF) forced Prime Minister B. Ulufa’alu to resign. In the following months, as the clash between the militants of the Malaitian guerrilla organization and the rebels of the Isatambu Freedom Fighters (IFF), later better known as Isatambu Freedom Movement, was rekindled in the country(IFM), the Parliament proceeded to the election as head of the government of the former Minister of Finance, M. Sogavare, leader of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP). Meanwhile, in October 2000, the main rebel groups signed the Townsville peace accords, subject to the injunction to hand over their weapons. In the country, however, a dangerous instability remained; in the elections of December 2001 the PPP, in government after the coup d’état of June 2000, suffered a sharp defeat, and the number of independent candidates elected was high. After a difficult consultation, A. Kemakeza, leader of the People’s Alliance Party (PAP), was appointed prime minister. Between 2002 and 2003, faced with the escalation of violence, the government showed all its powerlessness, also targeted by criticism for episodes of maladministration. Following the assassinations of the Minister of Youth and Sports (2002), and of a member of the National Peace Council (February 2003), and the establishment of a commission to monitor the implementation of the 2000 peace accords, the research of H. Keke, leader of the Guadalcanal Liberation Force, was intensified(GLF), responsible for numerous attacks and guerrilla actions, and the government was pushed to seek help from the international community. A peacekeeping contingent headed by Australia (Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands, RAMSI), deployed in the country in July 2003, helping to restore order; after Keke’s (ag.) arrest, many rebels surrendered and surrendered their weapons, allowing Australia to withdraw some of its troops by the end of the year.
During 2005, episodes of corruption, blackmail and violence intensified involving the entire political class, punished by the electorate in the competitions of April 2006, during which half of the parliamentarians lost their seats and an independent association of candidates led by S. Rini won the highest number of votes. The appointment of Rini as head of the government unleashed a wave of unrest in the country that led Parliament to revoke his appointment in favor of the former prime minister Sogavare. Between the end of 2006 and the beginning of 2007, relations between the Solomon Islands and Australia became increasingly tense.