Solomon Islands

Solomon Islands
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: "To Lead is to Serve"
Anthem: God Save Our Solomon Islands Royal anthem: God Save the Queen
Capital and largest city		Honiara 9°28′S 159°49′E / 9.467°S 159.817°E / -9.467; 159.817
Official languages		English
Ethnic groups (1999)		94.5% Melanesian 3.0% Polynesian 1.2% Micronesian 1.1% others 0.2% unspecified
Demonym		Solomon Islander
Government		Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy
-	Monarch	Queen Elizabeth II
-	Governor-General	Frank Kabui
-	Prime Minister	Gordon Darcy Lilo
Legislature		National Parliament
Independence
-	from the United Kingdom	7 July 1978
Area
-	Total	28,400 km2 (142nd) 10,965 sq mi
-	Water (%)	3.2%
Population
-	2009 estimate	523,000[1] (170th)
-	Density	18.1/km2 (189th) 46.9/sq mi
GDP (PPP)		2011 estimate
-	Total	$1.725 billion[2]
-	Per capita	$3,191[2]
GDP (nominal)		2011 estimate
-	Total	$840 million[2]
-	Per capita	$1,553[2]
HDI (2013)		0.530 low · 143rd
Currency		Solomon Islands dollar (SBD)
Time zone		(UTC+11)
Drives on the		left
Calling code		+677
ISO 3166 code		SB
Internet TLD		.sb

Solomon Islands is a sovereign country consisting of a large number of islands in Oceania lying to the east of Papua New Guinea and northwest of Vanuatu and covering a land area of 28,400 square kilometres (11,000 sq mi). The country's capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal. Solomon Islands should not be confused with the Solomon Islands archipelago, which is a collection of Melanesian islands that includes Solomon Islands and Bougainville Island.

The islands have been inhabited for thousands of years. In 1568, the Spanish navigator Álvaro de Mendaña was the first European to visit them, naming them the Islas Salomón.^[3] By 1893, the United Kingdom had established a protectorate over what was then known as "the Solomon Islands". During the Second World War, the Solomon Islands campaign (1942–1945) saw fierce fighting between the United States and the Empire of Japan, such as in the Battle of Guadalcanal.

Self-government was achieved in 1976. Independence was obtained two years later with the country adopting the formal name of Solomon Islands. Today, Solomon Islands is a constitutional monarchy with the Queen of Solomon Islands, currently Queen Elizabeth II, as its head of state. Gordon Lilo Darcy is the eleventh and current Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands.

Name

The country's name, as established in the Constitution of Solomon Islands^[4] and as used by government^[5][6] and the country's press,^[7][8] is "Solomon Islands", with no definite article, as is seen in the name of organisations such as the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands.^[9] In other English-speaking countries, the definite article is often added in error as this was the name used by the British administration when the islands were a British protectorate up to 1978.^[10]

History

It is believed that Papuan-speaking settlers began to arrive around 30,000 BC.^[11] Austronesian speakers arrived c. 4000 BC also bringing cultural elements such as the outrigger canoe. It is between 1200 and 800 BC that the ancestors of the Polynesians, the Lapita people, arrived from the Bismarck Archipelago with their characteristic ceramics.^[12]

The first European to visit the islands was the Spanish navigator Álvaro de Mendaña de Neira, coming from Peru in 1568. The people of Solomon Islands were notorious for headhunting and cannibalism before the arrival of the Europeans.^[13]

Missionaries began visiting the Solomons in the mid-19th century. They made little progress at first, because "blackbirding" (the often brutal recruitment or kidnapping of labourers for the sugar plantations in Queensland and Fiji) led to a series of reprisals and massacres. The evils of the labour trade prompted the United Kingdom to declare a protectorate over the southern Solomons in June 1893.^[14]

In 1898 and 1899, more outlying islands were added to the protectorate; in 1900 the remainder of the archipelago, an area previously under German jurisdiction, was transferred to British administration apart from the islands of Buka and Bougainville, which remained under German administration as part of German New Guinea. Traditional trade and social intercourse between the western Solomon Islands of Mono and Alu (the Shortlands) and the traditional societies in the south of Bougainville, however, continued without hindrance.

Under the protectorate, missionaries settled in the Solomons, converting most of the population to Christianity. In the early 20th century, several British and Australian firms began large-scale coconut planting. Economic growth was slow, however, and the islanders benefited little.

In 1908, the islands were visited by Jack London, who was cruising the Pacific on his boat, the Snark.

Second World War

With the outbreak of the Second World War, most planters and traders were evacuated to Australia, and most cultivation ceased. Some of the most intense fighting of the war occurred in the Solomons. The most significant of the Allied Forces' operations against the Japanese Imperial Forces was launched on 7 August 1942, with simultaneous naval bombardments and amphibious landings on the Florida Islands at Tulagi^[15] and Red Beach on Guadalcanal.

The Battle of Guadalcanal became an important and bloody campaign fought in the Pacific War as the Allies began to repulse Japanese expansion. Of strategic importance during the war were the coastwatchers operating in remote locations, often on Japanese held islands, providing early warning and intelligence of Japanese naval, army and aircraft movements during the campaign.^[16]

Sergeant-Major Jacob Vouza was a notable coastwatcher who after capture refused to divulge Allied information in spite of interrogation and torture by Japanese Imperial forces. He was awarded a Silver Star Medal by the Americans, which is the United States' third-highest decoration for valor in combat. Islanders Biuku Gasa and Eroni Kumana would be noted by National Geographic for being the first to find the shipwrecked John F. Kennedy and his crew of the PT-109. They suggested using a coconut to write a rescue message for delivery by dugout canoe, which was later kept on his desk when he became the president of the United States.

The Solomon Islands was one of the major staging areas of the South Pacific and was home to the famous VMF-214 "Black Sheep" Squadron commanded by Major Greg "Pappy" Boyington. "The Slot" was a name for New Georgia Sound, when it was used by the Tokyo Express to supply the Japanese garrison on Guadalcanal. Of more than 36,000 Japanese on Guadalcanal, about 26,000 were killed or missing, 9,000 died of disease, and 1,000 were captured.^[17]

Independence

Local councils were established in the 1950s as the islands stabilised from the aftermath of the Second World War. A new constitution was established in 1970 and elections were held, although the constitution was contested and a new one was created in 1974. In 1973 the first oil price shock occurred, and the increased cost of running a colony became apparent to British administrators.

Following the independence of neighbouring Papua New Guinea from Australia in 1975, the Solomon Islands gained self-government in 1976. Independence was granted on 7 July 1978. The first Prime Minister was Sir Peter Kenilorea, and Solomon Islands retained the Monarchy.

Civil war

Commonly referred to as the tensions or the ethnic tension, the initial civil unrest was mainly characterised by fighting between the Isatabu Freedom Movement (also known as the Guadalcanal Revolutionary Army) and the Malaita Eagle Force (as well as the Marau Eagle Force). (Although much of the conflict was between Guales and Malaitans, Kabutaulaka (2001) and Dinnen (2002) argue that the 'ethnic conflict' label is an oversimplification.)

In late 1998, militants on the island of Guadalcanal began a campaign of intimidation and violence towards Malaitan settlers. During the next year, thousands of Malaitans fled back to Malaita or to the capital, Honiara (which, although situated on Guadalcanal, is predominantly populated by Malaitans and Solomon Islanders from other provinces). In 1999, the Malaita Eagle Force (MEF) was established in response.

The reformist government of Bartholomew Ulufa'alu struggled to respond to the complexities of this evolving conflict. In late 1999, the government declared a four-month state of emergency. There were also a number of attempts at reconciliation but to no avail. Ulufa'alu also requested assistance from Australia and New Zealand in 1999 but his appeal was rejected.

In June 2000, Ulufa'alu was kidnapped by militia members of the MEF who felt that, although he was a Malaitan, he was not doing enough to protect their interests. Ulufa'alu subsequently resigned in exchange for his release. Manasseh Sogavare, who had earlier been Finance Minister in Ulufa'alu's government but had subsequently joined the opposition, was elected as Prime Minister by 23–21 over Rev. Leslie Boseto. However Sogavare's election was immediately shrouded in controversy because six MPs (thought to be supporters of Boseto) were unable to attend parliament for the crucial vote (Moore 2004, n.5 on p. 174).

In October 2000, the Townsville Peace Agreement,^[18] was signed by the Malaita Eagle Force, elements of the IFM, and the Solomon Islands Government. This was closely followed by the Marau Peace agreement in February 2001, signed by the Marau Eagle Force, the Isatabu Freedom Movement, the Guadalcanal Provincial Government, and the Solomon Islands Government. However, a key Guale militant leader, Harold Keke, refused to sign the agreement, causing a split with the Guale groups. Subsequently, Guale signatories to the agreement led by Andrew Te'e joined with the Malaitan-dominated police to form the 'Joint Operations Force'. During the next two years the conflict moved to the Weathercoast of Guadalcanal as the Joint Operations unsuccessfully attempted to capture Keke and his group.

New elections in December 2001 brought Sir Allan Kemakeza into the Prime Minister's chair with the support of his People's Alliance Party and the Association of Independent Members. Law and order deteriorated as the nature of the conflict shifted: there was continuing violence on the Weathercast while militants in Honiara increasingly turned their attention to crime and extortion. The Department of Finance would often be surrounded by armed men when funding was due to arrive. In December 2002, Finance Minister Laurie Chan resigned after being forced at gunpoint to sign a cheque made out to some of the militants. Conflict also broke out in Western Province between locals and Malaitan settlers. Renegade members of the Bougainville Revolutionary Army (BRA) were invited in as a protection force but ended up causing as much trouble as they prevented.

The prevailing atmosphere of lawlessness, widespread extortion, and ineffective police prompted a formal request by the Solomon Islands Government for outside help. With the country bankrupt and the capital in chaos, the request was unanimously supported in Parliament.

In July 2003, Australian and Pacific Island police and troops arrived in Solomon Islands under the auspices of the Australian-led Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI). A sizeable international security contingent of 2,200 police and troops, led by Australia and New Zealand, and with representatives from about 20 other Pacific nations, began arriving the next month under Operation Helpem Fren. Since this time some commentators have considered the country a failed state.^[19] However, other academics argue that rather than being a 'failed state', it is an unformed state: a state that never consolidated even after decades of independence.^[20]

In April 2006, allegations that the newly elected Prime Minister Snyder Rini had used bribes from Chinese businessmen to buy the votes of members of Parliament led to mass rioting in the capital Honiara. A deep underlying resentment against the minority Chinese business community led to much of Chinatown in the city being destroyed.^[21] Tensions were also increased by the belief that large sums of money were being exported to China. China sent chartered aircraft to evacuate hundreds of Chinese who fled to avoid the riots. Evacuation of Australian and British citizens was on a much smaller scale. Additional Australian, New Zealand and Fijian police and troops were dispatched to try to quell the unrest. Rini eventually resigned before facing a motion of no-confidence in Parliament, and Parliament elected Manasseh Sogavare as Prime Minister.

Earthquakes

On 2 April 2007, Solomon Island were struck by a major earthquake followed by a large tsunami. Initial reports indicated that the tsunami, which mainly affected the small island of Gizo, was several metres high (perhaps as high as 10 metres (33 ft) according to some reports, 5 metres (16 1/3 ft) according to the Foreign Office). The tsunami was triggered by an 8.0 magnitude earthquake, with a hypocenter 349 kilometres (217 miles) northwest of the island's capital, Honiara, at Lat −8.453 Long 156.957 and at a depth of 10 kilometres (6.2 miles).^[22]

According to the United States Geological Survey the earthquake struck at 20:39:56 UTC on Sunday, 1 April 2007. Since the initial event and up until 22:00:00 UTC on Wednesday, 4 April 2007, more than 44 aftershocks of a magnitude of 5.0 or greater were recorded in the region. The death toll from the resulting tsunami was at least 52 people, and the tsunami destroyed more than 900 homes and left thousands of people homeless.^[23] Land thrust from the quake has extended out from the shoreline of one island, Ranongga, by up to 70 metres (230 ft) according to local residents.^[24] This has left many once pristine coral reefs exposed on the newly formed beaches.

Another magnitude 8.0 earthquake struck off Santa Cruz Island, Solomon Islands, in the southwest Pacific Ocean on 6 February 2013 at 12:12 p.m local time. The quake triggered a tsunami and numerous earthquakes preceded the largest, including a 6.3 and 6.4 late Friday evening and a 6.3 early Wednesday morning. The earthquake struck off the Santa Cruz Islands and the epicentre was 586 km ESE of the capital of Solomon Islands, Honiara. The US Geological Survey initially put the quake epicentre at a very shallow depth of 5 km (three miles) but later revised this to a greater depth of 28.7 km (17.8 miles) which may have prevented a far more destructive tsunami.

A 1.5-metre (4 ft 11in) wave rushed inland on Santa Cruz Island, in the eastern Solomons, on Wednesday. The tsunami was generated by the initial 8.0-magnitude earthquake that struck near the town of Lata, on Santa Cruz in Temotu, the easternmost province in Solomon Islands. Smaller waves were recorded in Vanuatu and New Caledonia. Several aftershocks have occurred following the M 8.0 including a 6.4, 7.0 and 6.3 on Wednesday 6 February, and a 6.6 on Thursday 7 February. Following the quakes, several islands were affected and nine persons died. Due to the remote location and the closure of Honiara's main airport, assistance to the worst-affected areas was delayed.

Politics

Solomon Islands is a constitutional monarchy and has a parliamentary system of government. Queen Elizabeth II is the Monarch of the Solomon Islands and the head of state; she is represented by the Governor-General who is chosen by the Parliament for a five-year term. There is a unicameral parliament of 50 members, elected for four-year terms. However, Parliament may be dissolved by majority vote of its members before the completion of its term.

Parliamentary representation is based on single-member constituencies. Suffrage is universal for citizens over age 21.^[25] The head of government is the Prime Minister, who is elected by Parliament and chooses the cabinet. Each ministry is headed by a cabinet member, who is assisted by a permanent secretary, a career public servant who directs the staff of the ministry.

Solomon Islands governments are characterised by weak political parties (see List of political parties in Solomon Islands) and highly unstable parliamentary coalitions. They are subject to frequent votes of no confidence, leading to frequent changes in government leadership and cabinet appointments.

Land ownership is reserved for Solomon Islanders. The law provides that resident expatriates, such as the Chinese and Kiribati, may obtain citizenship through naturalisation. Land generally is still held on a family or village basis and may be handed down from mother or father according to local custom. The islanders are reluctant to provide land for nontraditional economic undertakings, and this has resulted in continual disputes over land ownership.

No military forces are maintained by Solomon Islands although a police force of nearly 500 includes a border protection unit. The police also are responsible for fire service, disaster relief, and maritime surveillance. The police force is headed by a commissioner, appointed by the governor-general and responsible to the prime minister. On 27 December 2006, the Solomon Islands Government took steps to prevent the country's Australian police chief from returning to the Pacific nation. On 12 January 2007, Australia replaced its top diplomat expelled from Solomon Islands for political interference in a conciliatory move aimed at easing a four-month dispute between the two countries.

On 13 December 2007, Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare was toppled by a vote of no confidence in Parliament,^[26] following the defection of five ministers to the opposition. It was the first time a prime minister had lost office in this way in Solomon Islands. On 20 December, Parliament elected the opposition's candidate (and former Minister for Education) Derek Sikua as Prime Minister, in a vote of 32 to 15.^[27][28]

Judiciary

The Governor General appoints the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court on the advice of the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition. The Governor General appoints the other justices with the advice of a judicial commission. The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (based in the United Kingdom) serves as the highest appellate court.

The current Chief Justice is Sir Albert Palmer. From March 2014 Justice Edwin Goldsbrough will serve as the President of the Court of Appeal for the Solomon Islands. Justice Goldsbrough has previously served a five year terms as a Judge of the High Court of the Solomon Islands (2006-2011). Justice Edwin Goldsbrough then served as the Chief Justice of the Turks and Caicos Islands.^[29]

Provinces

For local government, the country is divided into ten administrative areas, of which nine are provinces administered by elected provincial assemblies and the tenth is the capital Honiara, administered by the Honiara Town Council.

1. Central
2. Choiseul
3. Guadalcanal
4. Isabel
5. Makira-Ulawa
6. Malaita
7. Rennell and Bellona
8. Temotu
9. Western
10. Honiara City

Foreign relations

Solomon Islands is a member of the United Nations, Commonwealth, Pacific Islands Forum, South Pacific Commission, International Monetary Fund, and the European Union/African, Caribbean, and Pacific (ACP) countries (EEC/ACP) (Lomé Convention).

The political stage of Solomon Islands is further influenced by its diplomatic importance to the Republic of China and the People's Republic of China. Solomon Islands gives diplomatic recognition to the ROC,^[30] recognising it as the sole-legitimate government of all of China, giving Taiwan vital votes in the United Nations. Lucrative investments, political funding and preferential loans from both the ROC and PRC are increasingly manipulating the political landscape of Solomon Islands.

Relations with Papua New Guinea, which had become strained because of an influx of refugees from the Bougainville rebellion and attacks on the northern islands of Solomon Islands by elements pursuing Bougainvillean rebels, have been repaired. A 1998 peace accord on Bougainville removed the armed threat, and the two nations regularised border operations in a 2004 agreement.

Military

Although the locally recruited British Solomon Islands Protectorate Defence Force was part of Allied forces taking part in fighting in the Solomons during the Second World War, the country has not had any regular military forces since independence. The various paramilitary elements of the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force (RSIPF) were disbanded and disarmed in 2003 following the intervention of the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI). RAMSI has a small military detachment headed by an Australian commander with responsibilities for assisting the police element of RAMSI in internal and external security. The RSIPF still operates two Pacific class patrol boats (RSIPV Auki and RSIPV Lata), which constitute the de facto navy of Solomon Islands.

In the long term it is anticipated that the RSIPF will resume the defence role. The police force is headed by a commissioner, appointed by the governor general and responsible to the Minister of Police, National Security & Correctional Services.

The police budget of Solomon Islands has been strained due to a four-year civil war. Following Cyclone Zoe's strike on the islands of Tikopia and Anuta in December 2002, Australia had to provide the Solomon Islands government with 200,000 Solomon dollars ($50,000 Australian) for fuel and supplies for the patrol boat Lata to sail with relief supplies. (Part of the work of RAMSI includes assisting the Solomon Islands government to stabilise its budget.)

Geography

Solomon Islands is an island nation that lies east of Papua New Guinea and consists of many islands: Choiseul, the Shortland Islands; the New Georgia Islands; Santa Isabel; the Russell Islands; Nggela (the Florida Islands); Malaita; Guadalcanal; Sikaiana; Maramasike; Ulawa; Uki; Makira (San Cristobal); Santa Ana; Rennell and Bellona; the Santa Cruz Islands and three remote, tiny outliers, Tikopia, Anuta, and Fatutaka.

The country's islands lie between latitudes 5° and 13°S, and longitudes 155° and 169°E. The distance between the westernmost and easternmost islands is about 1,500 kilometres (930 mi). The Santa Cruz Islands (of which Tikopia is part) are situated north of Vanuatu and are especially isolated at more than 200 kilometres (120 mi) from the other islands. Bougainville is geographically part of the Solomon Islands but politically part of Papua New Guinea.

The islands' ocean-equatorial climate is extremely humid throughout the year, with a mean temperature of 26.5 °C (79.7 °F) and few extremes of temperature or weather. June through August is the cooler period. Though seasons are not pronounced, the northwesterly winds of November through April bring more frequent rainfall and occasional squalls or cyclones. The annual rainfall is about 3,050 millimetres (120 in).

The Solomon Islands archipelago is part of two distinct terrestrial ecoregions. Most of the islands are part of the Solomon Islands rain forests ecoregion, which also includes the islands of Bougainville and Buka; these forests have come under pressure from forestry activities. The Santa Cruz Islands are part of the Vanuatu rain forests ecoregion, together with the neighbouring archipelago of Vanuatu. Soil quality ranges from extremely rich volcanic (there are volcanoes with varying degrees of activity on some of the larger islands) to relatively infertile limestone. More than 230 varieties of orchids and other tropical flowers brighten the landscape.

The islands contain several active and dormant volcanoes. The Tinakula and Kavachi volcanoes are the most active.

Economy

Solomon Islands' per-capita GDP of $600 ranks it as a lesser developed nation, and more than 75% of its labour force is engaged in subsistence and fishing. Most manufactured goods and petroleum products must be imported. Until 1998, when world prices for tropical timber fell steeply, timber was Solomon Islands' main export product, and, in recent years, Solomon Islands forests were dangerously overexploited. Other important cash crops and exports include copra and palm oil. In 1998, Ross Mining of Australia began producing gold at Gold Ridge on Guadalcanal. Minerals exploration in other areas continued. However, in the wake of the ethnic violence in June 2000, exports of palm oil and gold ceased while exports of timber fell. The islands are rich in undeveloped mineral resources such as lead, zinc, nickel, and gold.

Solomon Islands' fisheries also offer prospects for export and domestic economic expansion. However, a Japanese joint venture, Solomon Taiyo Ltd., which operated the only fish cannery in the country, closed in mid-2000 as a result of the ethnic disturbances. Though the plant has reopened under local management, the export of tuna has not resumed. Negotiations are underway that may lead to the eventual reopening of the Gold Ridge mine and the major oil-palm plantation.

Tourism, particularly diving, is an important service industry for Solomon Islands. Growth in that industry is hampered, however, by lack of infrastructure and transportation limitations.

Solomon Islands Government was insolvent by 2002. Since the RAMSI intervention in 2003, the government has recast its budget. It has consolidated and renegotiated its domestic debt and with Australian backing, is now seeking to renegotiate its foreign obligations. Principal aid donors are Australia, New Zealand, the European Union, Japan, and the Republic of China.

Recently, Solomon Islands courts have re-approved the export of live dolphins for profit, most recently to Dubai, United Arab Emirates. This practice was originally stopped by the government in 2004 after international uproar over a shipment of 28 live dolphins to Mexico. The move resulted in criticism from both Australia and New Zealand as well as several conservation organisations.

Energy

A team of renewable energy developers working for the Pacific Islands Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC) and funded by the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP), have hatched a scheme that enables these communities to access renewable energy, such as solar, without raising substantial sums of ready cash. They also use water and wind power. If the islanders were not able to pay for solar lanterns with cash, reasoned the project developers, they can pay with crops.^[31]

Demographics

As of 2006, the majority of the 552,438 people in Solomon Islands are ethnically Melanesian (94.5%). Polynesian (3%) and Micronesian (1.2%) are the two other significant groups.^[32] There are a few thousand ethnic Chinese.^[21]

The number of local languages listed for Solomon Islands is 74, of which 70 are living languages and 4 are extinct, according to «Ethnologue, Languages of the World».^[33] On the central islands, Melanesian languages (predominantly of the Southeast Solomonic group) are spoken. On the outliers, Rennell and Bellona to the south, Tikopia, Anuta and Fatutaka to the far east, Sikaiana to the north east, and Luaniua to the north (Ontong Java Atoll, also known as Lord Howe Atoll), Polynesian languages are spoken. The immigrant population of Gilbertese (i-Kiribati) speaks a Micronesian language. While English is the official language, only 1–2% of the population speak English; the lingua franca is Solomons Pijin.

About 10% of the population of Solomon Islands has blond hair, a native trait that is not the result of intermarriage with Europeans, but due to a variant of the TYRP1 gene which causes blond hair. The allele is absent in the European genome.^[34]

Health

Female life expectancy at birth was at 66.7 years and male life expectancy at birth at 64.9 in 2007.^[35] 1990–1995 fertility rate was at 5.5 births per woman.^[35] Government expenditure on health per capita was at US$99 (PPP).^[35] Healthy life expectancy at birth is at 60 years.^[35]

Religion

The religion of Solomon Islands is about 92% Christian with the following denominations: the Anglican Church of Melanesia 35%, Roman Catholic 19%, South Seas Evangelical Church 17%, United Church in Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands 11% and Seventh-day Adventist 10%. Another 5% adhere to aboriginal beliefs. The remaining adhere to Islam, the Baha'i Faith, Jehovah's Witnesses, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), According to the most recent reports, Islam in the Solomon Islands is made up of approximately 350 Muslims,^[36] including members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.^[37]

Culture

In the traditional culture of the Solomon Islands, age-old customs are handed down from one generation to the next, allegedly from the ancestral spirits themselves, to form the cultural values of the Solomon Islands.

Media

Radio

Radio is the most influential type of media in Solomon Islands due to language differences, illiteracy,^[38] and the difficulty of receiving television signals in some parts of the country. The Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation (SIBC) operates public radio services, including the national stations Radio Happy Isles 1037 on the dial and Wantok FM 96.3, and the provincial stations Radio Happy Lagoon and, formerly, Radio Temotu. There are two commercial FM stations, Z FM at 99.5 in Honiara but receivable over a large majority of island out from Honiara, and, PAOA FM at 97.7 in Honiara and 107.5 in Auki, and, one Community FM Radio Station – Gold Ridge FM on 88.7.

Newspapers

Newspapers – There is one daily newspaper Solomon Star (www.solomonstarnews.com) and one daily online news website Solomon Times Online (www.solomontimes.com), 2 weekly papers Solomons Voice and Solomon Times, and 2 monthly papers Agrikalsa Nius and the Citizen's Press.

Television

There are no TV services that cover the entire Solomon Islands, but satellite TV stations can be received. However, in Honiara, there is a free-to-air channel called 'One Television', and rebroadcast ABC Asia Pacific (from Australia's ABC) and BBC World News. As of Dec 2010, residents could subscribe to SATSOL, a Digital Pay TV Service, re-transmitting Satellite Television.

Literature and music

Writers from Solomon Islands include the novelists Rexford Orotaloa and John Saunana and the poet Jully Makini.

Sport

Solomon Islands national teams in football and related sports (futsal and beach soccer) have proved among the most successful in Oceania.

The Solomon Islands national football team became the first team to beat New Zealand in qualifying for a play-off spot against Australia for qualification to the World Cup 2006. They were defeated 7–0 in Australia and 2–1 at home.

On 14 June 2008, the Solomon Islands national futsal team, the Kurukuru, won the Oceania Futsal Championship in Fiji to qualify them for the 2008 FIFA Futsal World Cup, which was held in Brazil from 30 September to 19 October 2008. Solomon Islands is the futsal defending champions in the Oceania region. In 2008 and 2009 the Kurukuru won the Oceania Futsal Championship in Fiji. In 2009 they defeated the host nation Fiji, 8–0, to claim the title. The Kurukuru currently hold the world record for the fastest ever goal scored in an official futsal match. It was set by Kurukuru captain Elliot Ragomo, who scored against New Caledonia three seconds into the game in July 2009.^[39] They also, however, hold the less enviable record for the worst defeat in the history of the Futsal World Cup, when in 2008 they were beaten by Russia with two goals to thirty-one.^[40]

The Solomon Islands' beach soccer team, the Bilikiki Boys, are statistically the most successful team in Oceania. They have won all three regional championships to date, thereby qualifying on each occasion for the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup. The Bilikiki Boys are ranked fourteenth in the world as of 2010, higher than any other team from Oceania.^[41]

In January 2011, the Bilikiki Boys played the Kurukuru in a friendly beach soccer match. The Bilikiki won 4–1. Previously, the two teams had met for a friendly futsal match, which the Kurukuru had won 5–3.^[42][43]

The Solomon Islands national rugby union team has been playing internationals since 1969. It took part in the Oceania qualifying tournament for the 2003 and 2007 Rugby World Cups, but failed to qualify on each occasion.

Education

Education in Solomon Islands is not compulsory and only 60 percent of school-age children have access to primary education.^[44][45]

From 1990 to 1994, the gross primary school enrolment rose from 84.5 percent to 96.6 percent.^[44] Primary school attendance rates were unavailable for Solomon Islands as of 2001.^[44] While enrolment rates indicate a level of commitment to education, they do not always reflect children's participation in school.^[44] Efforts and plans made by the Department of Education and Human Resource Development to expand educational facilities and increase enrolment have been hindered by a lack of government funding, misguided teacher training programs, poor co-ordination of programs, and a failure of the government to pay teachers.^[44] The percentage of the government's budget allocated to education was 9.7 percent in 1998, down from 13.2 percent in 1990.^[44]

Male educational attainment tends to be higher than female educational attainment.^[45] The University of the South Pacific has a Campus in Solomon Islands while the University of Papua New Guinea has also established a foothold in the country at Guadalcanal.^[46]

See also

Book: Solomon Islands

• Outline of Solomon Islands
• Lau Lagoon
• LGBT rights in Solomon Islands
• States headed by Elizabeth II

Notes

External links

Find more about Solomon Islands at Wikipedia's sister projects
	Definitions and translations from Wiktionary
	Media from Commons
	Quotations from Wikiquote
	Source texts from Wikisource
	Textbooks from Wikibooks
	Learning resources from Wikiversity

Government

• Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet

General information

• Solomon Islands entry at The World Factbook

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v t e Countries and territories of Oceania Sovereign states Australia Fiji Indonesia Kiribati Marshall Islands Federated States of Micronesia Nauru New Zealand Palau Papua New Guinea Samoa Solomon Islands Tonga Timor-Leste Tuvalu Vanuatu Associated states of New Zealand Niue Cook Islands Parts of sovereign states Chile Easter Island Juan Fernández Islands Japan Ogasawara village United States Hawaii Palmyra Atoll Dependencies and other territories Australia Ashmore and Cartier Islands Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Coral Sea Islands Norfolk Island France French Polynesia New Caledonia Wallis and Futuna New Zealand Tokelau United Kingdom Pitcairn Islands United States American Samoa Baker Island Guam Howland Island Jarvis Island Johnston Atoll Kingman Reef Midway Atoll Northern Mariana Islands Wake Island Timor-Leste is often included in Southeast Asia. The Cook Islands and Niue are states in free association with New Zealand with partial recognition as sovereign states.

v t e Former German colonies and protectorates Colonies Africa Wituland German East Africa Kionga Triangle German South-West Africa German West Africa Kamerun Togoland Pacific German New Guinea German Samoa Concessions China German Kiautschou Tsingtao Tientsin Unrecognised Antarctica New Swabia

v t e Commonwealth realms and Dominions Current Antigua and Barbuda (Monarchy) Australia (Monarchy) Bahamas (Monarchy) Barbados (Monarchy) Belize (Monarchy) Canada (Monarchy) Grenada (Monarchy) Jamaica (Monarchy) Realm of New Zealand Cook Islands New Zealand Niue Papua New Guinea (Monarchy) St. Kitts and Nevis (Monarchy) St. Lucia (Monarchy) St. Vincent and the Grenadines (Monarchy) Solomon Islands (Monarchy) Tuvalu (Monarchy) United Kingdom (Monarchy) Former Ceylon (Monarchy) Fiji (Monarchy) The Gambia (Monarchy) Ghana (Monarchy) Guyana (Monarchy) India1 (Monarchy) Ireland1 (Monarchy) Kenya (Monarchy) Malawi (Monarchy) Malta (Monarchy) Mauritius (Monarchy) Newfoundland2 Nigeria (Monarchy) Pakistan (Monarchy) Rhodesia3 Sierra Leone (Monarchy) South Africa (Monarchy) Tanganyika (Monarchy) Trinidad and Tobago (Monarchy) Uganda (Monarchy) 1 Dominion, became republic before adoption of the term "realm" 2 Dominion, never ratified Statute of Westminster 1931, London-based external government 1934–1949, annexed by Canada in 1949 3 Rhodesia unilaterally declared independence as a realm in 1965, but this was not recognised internationally. Declared itself a republic in 1970.

v t e Monarchies List of current sovereign monarchs List of current constituent monarchs By continent Africa Americas Asia Europe Oceania By country Antigua and Barbuda Australia Andorra The Bahamas Bahrain Barbados Belize Belgium Bhutan Brunei Cambodia Canada Cook Islands Denmark Grenada Jamaica Japan Jordan Kuwait Liechtenstein Lesotho Luxembourg Malaysia Monaco Morocco Netherlands New Zealand Niue Norway Oman Papua New Guinea Qatar Spain Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Saudi Arabia Solomon Islands Swaziland Sweden Thailand Tonga Tuvalu United Arab Emirates United Kingdom Vatican City By type Absolute Constitutional Elective Hereditary Diarchy Federal Italics indicate Commonwealth realms, which each share the same person as head of state.

v t e Members of the Commonwealth of Nations Sovereign states Antigua and Barbuda Australia Bahamas Bangladesh Barbados Belize Botswana Brunei Cameroon Canada Cyprus Dominica Fiji (suspended) Ghana Grenada Guyana India Jamaica Kenya Kiribati Lesotho Malawi Malaysia Maldives Malta Mauritius Mozambique Namibia Nauru New Zealand Nigeria Pakistan Papua New Guinea Rwanda St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Solomon Islands South Africa Sri Lanka Swaziland Tanzania Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tuvalu Uganda United Kingdom Vanuatu Zambia Dependencies Australia Ashmore and Cartier Islands Australian Antarctic Territory Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Coral Sea Islands Heard Island and McDonald Islands Norfolk Island New Zealand Cook Islands Niue Ross Dependency Tokelau United Kingdom Akrotiri and Dhekelia Anguilla Bermuda British Antarctic Territory British Indian Ocean Territory British Virgin Islands Cayman Islands Falkland Islands Gibraltar Guernsey Isle of Man Jersey Montserrat Pitcairn Islands St. Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Turks and Caicos Islands Source: Commonwealth Secretariat - Member States