]! ^! 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. Ethnic violence, government malfeasance, and endemic crime have undermined stability and civil society. In June 2003, Prime Minister Sir Allen KEMAKEZA sought the assistance of Australia in reestablishing law and order; the following month, an Australian-led multinational force arrived to restore peace and disarm ethnic militias. The Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI) has been very effective in restoring law and order and rebuilding government institutions. 
]" ^" Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Papua New Guinea ^# 8 00 S, 159 00 E ^$ Oceania ^% `! 28,450 sq km `" 27,540 sq km `# 910 sq km ^& slightly smaller than Maryland ^' 0 km ^( 5,313 km ^) measured from claimed archipelagic baselines `$ 12 nm `I 200 nm `J 200 nm ^* tropical monsoon; few extremes of temperature and weather ^+ mostly rugged mountains with some low coral atolls ^, `% Pacific Ocean 0 m `& Mount Makarakomburu 2,447 m ^- fish, forests, gold, bauxite, phosphates, lead, zinc, nickel ^. `' 0.64% `( 2% `) 97.36% (2001) ^/ NA ^0 typhoons, but rarely destructive; geologically active region with frequent earth tremors; volcanic activity ^1 deforestation; soil erosion; many of the surrounding coral reefs are dead or dying _J `K Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Whaling `L none of the selected agreements ^2 strategic location on sea routes between the South Pacific Ocean, the Solomon Sea, and the Coral Sea 
]# ^3 538,032 (July 2005 est.) ^4 `* 41.9% (male 114,860/female 110,404) `+ 54.9% (male 149,400/female 145,970) `, 3.2% (male 8,371/female 9,027) (2005 est.) ^5 `! 18.63 years `- 18.5 years `. 18.76 years (2005 est.) ^6 2.68% (2005 est.) ^7 30.74 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^8 3.98 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^9 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^: `/ 1.05 male(s)/female `0 1.04 male(s)/female `+ 1.02 male(s)/female `, 0.93 male(s)/female `1 1.03 male(s)/female (2005 est.) ^; `! 21.29 deaths/1,000 live births `- 24.27 deaths/1,000 live births `. 18.17 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) ^< `1 72.66 years `- 70.16 years `. 75.28 years (2005 est.) ^= 4.04 children born/woman (2005 est.) ^> NA ^? NA ^@ NA ^A `2 Solomon Islander(s) `3 Solomon Islander ^B Melanesian 94.5%, Polynesian 3%, Micronesian 1.2%, other 1.1%, unspecified 0.2% (1999 census) ^C Church of Melanesia 32.8%, Roman Catholic 19%, South Seas Evangelical 17%, Seventh-Day Adventist 11.2%, United Church 10.3%, Christian Fellowship Church 2.4%, other Christian 4.4%, other 2.4%, unspecified 0.3%, none 0.2% (1999 census) ^D 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 ^E `M NA `1 NA% `- NA% `. NA% 
]$ ^F `4 none `5 Solomon Islands `X British Solomon Islands ^H parliamentary democracy ^I Honiara ^J 9 provinces and 1 capital territory*; Central, Choiseul, Guadalcanal, Honiara*, Isabel, Makira, Malaita, Rennell and Bellona, Temotu, Western ^K 7 July 1978 (from UK) ^L Independence Day, 7 July (1978) ^M 7 July 1978 ^N English common law, which is widely disregarded ^O 21 years of age; universal ^P `6 Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Nathaniel WAENA (since 7 July 2004) `7 Prime Minister Sir Allan KEMAKEZA (since 17 December 2001); Deputy Prime Minister Snyder RINI (since 17 December 2001) `8 Cabinet consists of 20 members appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister from among the members of Parliament `9 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 ^Q unicameral National Parliament (50 seats; members elected from single-member constituencies by popular vote to serve four-year terms) `9 last held 5 December 2001 (next to be held not later than December 2005) `: percent of vote by party - PAP 40%, SIACC 40%, PPP 20%; seats by party - PAP 16, SIACC 13, PPP 2, SILP 1, independents 18 ^R Court of Appeal ^S Association of Independents [Snyder RINI]; People's Alliance Party or PAP [Allan KEMAKEZA]; People's Progressive Party or PPP [Mannaseh Damukana SOGAVARE]; Solomon Islands Alliance for Change Coalition or SIACC [Bartholomew ULUFA'ALU]; Solomon Islands Labor Party or SILP [Joses TUHANUKU] note: in general, Solomon Islands politics is characterized by fluid coalitions ^T NA ^U ACP, AsDB, C, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IOC, ITU, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO ^V `N Ambassador Collin David BECK `O 800 Second Avenue, Suite 400L, New York, NY 10017 `P [1] (212) 599-6192, 6193 `Q [1] (212) 661-8925 ^W 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 ^X 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 _g June 2003 Prime Minister Sir Allan KEMAKEZA sought the intervention of Australia to aid in restoring order; parliament approved the request for intervention in July 2003; troops from Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, and Tonga arrived 24 July 2003. By the end of 2004 the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI) had been scaled back to 302 police officers and 120 military in addition to civilian technical advisors. 
]% ^Y 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. Prior to the arrival of the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI), severe ethnic violence, the closing of key businesses, and an empty government treasury culminated in economic collapse. RAMSI has enabled a return to law and order, a new period of economic stability, and modest growth as the economy rebuilds. ^Z $800 million (2002 est.) ^[ 5.8% (2003 est.) ^\ purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2002 est.) ^] `; 42% `< 11% `= 47% (2000 est.) ^^ 26,840 (1999) ^_ agriculture 75%, industry 5%, services 20% (2000 est.) ^` NA% ^a NA _! `> NA `? NA _" 10% (2003 est.) _# `@ $49.7 million `A $75.1 million, including capital expenditures of $0 (2003) _$ cocoa beans, coconuts, palm kernels, rice, potatoes, vegetables, fruit; cattle, pigs; timber; fish _% fish (tuna), mining, timber _& NA _' 32 million kWh (2002) _( 29.76 million kWh (2002) _) 0 kWh (2002) _* 0 kWh (2002) _+ 0 bbl/day (2001 est.) _, 1,250 bbl/day (2001 est.) _- NA _. NA _/ $74 million f.o.b. (2003 est.) _0 timber, fish, copra, palm oil, cocoa _1 China 27.8%, South Korea 17.1%, Thailand 15.7%, Japan 9.7%, Philippines 4.8% (2004) _2 $67 million f.o.b. (2003) _3 food, plant and equipment, manufactured goods, fuels, chemicals _4 Australia 24.6%, Singapore 23.1%, New Zealand 7.7%, Fiji 4.8%, Papua New Guinea 4.7% (2004) _5 $180.4 million (2002) _6 $28 million annually, mainly from Australia (2003 est.) _7 Solomon Islands dollar (SBD) _8 Solomon Islands dollars per US dollar - 7.4847 (2004), 7.5059 (2003), 6.7488 (2002), 5.278 (2001), 5.0889 (2000) _9 calendar year 
]& _: 6,600 (2002) _; 1,000 (2002) _< `B NA `C NA `D country code - 677; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) _= AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 1 (2004) _? .sb _@ 398 (2003) _A 2,200 (2002) 
]' _B `! 1,360 km `E 34 km `F 1,326 km (1999 est.) _C Honiara, Malloco Bay, Shortland Harbor, Viru Harbor, Yandina _D 33 (2004 est.) _E `! 2 `^ 1 `_ 1 (2004 est.) _L `! 31 `^ 1 `_ 9 `T 21 (2004 est.) 
]( _F no regular military forces; Royal Solomon Islands Police (RSIP) _N NA _O NA 
]) _H Australian Defense Force leads the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI) at the invitation of the Solomon Islands' Government to maintain civil and political order and reinforce regional security 