A country embraces itself in the lust tropical environment, with white beaches stretching from the four corners of the archipelago, Solomon Islands primed itself as one of the Island nation with diverse, colorful and unique tradition rooted in the existence of multicultural backgrounds, emanating from more than 3000 years of preserved identity. This is a country renowned for its friendliness, accommodative approach and is a land of plenty surprises.

History

Solomon Islands derived its identity and name from the great Spanish explorer Captain Alvaro De Mendana who discovered the archipelago in search of wealth in 1568. History states that earlier inhabitants known as the Austronesians were settled in the Solomon Islands some 3000 to 4000 years ago, probably migrating thousands of miles from South East Asia.

Around 1700, European contacts with the island people became constant resulting in whaling boats and traders visiting the archipelago in pursue of their economic interests. In 1860 Solomon Islands had become a “black birding” destination where people were recruited, usually by force, to work in sugar cane plantations in Queensland (Australia) and Fiji. By 1893, Great Britain declared Southern Solomon Islands a protectorate and became a British colony. Five years later in 1899, following the Anglo-German Agreement, other parts of the Solomon Islands were integrated into the colony.

Solomon Islands continued to be part of the British Empire until 1978 when the indigenous people were determined to govern themselves. In recognizing the wishes of the people for greater autonomy and political freedom, Great Britain, on the 7th of July 1978, declared Solomon Islands an independent state. The newly established country adopted its constitution with unicameral national parliament. However, Queen Elizabeth II was instituted and recognized as Head of State, represented by the Governor General.

Government

Solomon Islands is a democratic country with the national parliament comprises of 50 members, elected for a four year term under the “first past the post” voting system. The Prime Minister is elected from the leader of the majority party following legislative election or from the leader of the majority coalition. Cabinet consisted of 20 members appointed by the governor general on the advice of the Prime Minister from among the members of the forming government. The Governor General is the Head of State and is appointed by the monarch on the advice of Parliament for 5 years. By constitution, Members of Parliament are legislators.

On the provincial level, members of the provincial assembly were also elected for a four year term. The Premier is the Chief Administrator of the provincial affairs who is elected from the leader of the majority party or coalition from members of the provincial assembly. The Deputy Premier is appointed by the speaker of the Assembly upon the advice of the Premier. Solomon Islands has nine provinces with each having their own Premiers. Provincial governments may enact ordinances that are only consistent to national legislations.

Geography

Solomon Islands is the second largest tropical island within the Pacific Islands group. There are six major islands characterized by steep mountain ranges with dense tropical forests and are surrounded by extensive coral reefs. Solomon Islands is home to some of the most distinctive birds, animals and sea creatures in the world with Western Province hosting unique and rear species of known corals. On the global map, Solomon Islands is located between 5-12 degrees S latitude and 150-170 degrees E longitude in the Pacific Ocean. It is approximately 1800km from Brisbane, Australia and 3900km from New Zealand. Solomon Islands has a total land area of 28,369 sq kilometers with an Exclusive Economic Zone of 1.3 million sq kilometers.

Climate

The country’s climate is equatorial usually moderated by the south-east trade winds from April to November and the north-west trade winds for the rest of the year. The country climate is conditioned to two seasons, the dry season (December to March) and the wet season (April to November). At daytime the equatorial climate temperature averages 29 degrees C and falling to 22 degrees at nighttime. Average rainfall is approximately 3500 mm per annun, a fine outcome for the tropical climate.

People

Solomon Islands enjoys a remarkable and diverse cultural population with distinctive backgrounds co-exist peacefully along each other. The Melanesians who made up roughly about 93% of the population inhabited most of the larger islands followed by Polynesians, 4%, the Micronesians, 1.5% and others at 1.5%. The 1999 census shows that Solomon Islands total population is approximately 450,000 with Malaita constituting to more than 25%. An estimated 80% of the total population lived in rural areas with the remaining 20% residing in urban centers. Honiara, the capital city hosted more than 60% of urban residents. Solomon Islands population growth is considered as one of the highest internationally at over 3% per annum. Solomon Islands people spoke more than 80 languages which reflect the country’s diverse cultural populations, with Pidgin as lingua franca. Christianity is the dominant religion that represents 95% of the total population.