Overview:
The bulk of the population depend on subsistence 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.
The economy suffered from a severe cyclone in mid-1986 that caused
widespread damage to the infrastructure. In 1993, the government was
working with the IMF to develop a structural adjustment program to
address the country's fiscal deficit.
National product:
GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $900 million (1991 est.)
National product real growth rate:
1.8% (1991 est.)
National product per capita:
$2,500 (1991 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
13% (1992 est.)
Unemployment rate:
NA%
Budget:
revenues:
$48 million
expenditures:
$107 million, including capital expenditures of $45 million (1991
est.)
Exports:
$84 million (f.o.b., 1991)
commodities:
fish 46%, timber 31%, palm oil 5%, cocoa, copra
partners:
Japan 39%, UK 23%, Thailand 9%, Australia 5%, US 2% (1991)
Imports:
$110 million (c.i.f., 1991)
commodities:
plant and machinery manufactured goods, food and live animals, fuel
partners:
Australia 34%, Japan 16%, Singapore 14%, NZ 9%
External debt:
$128 million (1988 est.)
Industrial production:
growth rate -3.8% (1991 est.); accounts for 5% of GDP
Electricity:
capacity:
21,000 kW
production:
39 million kWh
consumption per capita:
115 kWh (1990)
Industries:
copra, fish (tuna)
Agriculture:
including fishing and forestry, accounts for 31% of GDP; mostly
subsistence farming; cash crops - cocoa, beans, coconuts, palm
kernels, timber; other products - rice, potatoes, vegetables, fruit,
cattle, pigs; not self-sufficient in food grains; 90% of the total
fish catch of 44,500 metric tons was exported (1988)
Economic aid:
recipient:
Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1980-89), $250 million
Currency:
1 Solomon Islands dollar (SI$) = 100 cents
Exchange rates:
Solomon Islands dollars (SI$) per US$1 - 3.2383 (November 1993),
2.9281 (1992), 2.7148 (1991), 2.5288 (1990), 2.2932 (1989)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
@Solomon Islands, Communications
Highways:
total:
1,300 km
paved:
30 km
unpaved:
gravel 290 km; earth 980 km
note:
in addition, there are 800 km of private logging and plantation roads
of varied construction (1982)
Ports:
Honiara, Ringi Cove
Airports:
total:
31
usable:
30
with permanent-surface runways:
2
with runways over 3,659 m:
0
with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
0
with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
4
Telecommunications:
3,000 telephones; broadcast stations - 4 AM, no FM, no TV; 1 Pacific
Ocean INTELSAT earth station
@Solomon Islands, Defense Forces
Branches:
Police Force
Defense expenditures:
$NA, NA% of GDP
@Somalia, Geography
Location:
Eastern Africa, bordering the northwestern Indian Ocean, south of the
Arabian Peninsula
Map references:
Africa, Standard Time Zones of the World
Area:
total area:
637,660 sq km
land area:
627,340 sq km
comparative area:
slightly smaller than Texas
Land boundaries:
total 2,366 km, Djibouti 58 km, Ethiopia 1,626 km, Kenya 682 km
Coastline:
3,025 km
Maritime claims:
territorial sea:
200 nm
International disputes:
southern half of boundary with Ethiopia is a Provisional
Administrative Line; territorial dispute with Ethiopia over the Ogaden
Climate:
desert; northeast monsoon (December to February), cooler southwest
monsoon (May to October); irregular rainfall; hot, humid periods
(tangambili) between monsoons
Terrain:
mostly flat to undulating plateau rising to hills in north
Natural resources:
uranium and largely unexploited reserves of iron ore, tin, gypsum,
bauxite, copper, salt
Land use:
arable land:
2%
permanent crops:
0%
meadows and pastures:
46%
forest and woodland:
14%
other:
38%
Irrigated land:
1,600 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment:
current issues:
use of contaminated water contributes to health problems;
deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification
natural hazards:
recurring droughts; frequent dust storms over eastern plains in summer
international agreements:
party to - Endangered Species, Law of the Sea; signed, but not
ratified - Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban
Note:
strategic location on Horn of Africa along southern approaches to Bab
el Mandeb and route through Red Sea and Suez Canal
@Somalia, People
Population: 6,666,873 (July 1994 est.) Population growth rate: 3.24% (1994 est.) Birth rate: 45.97 births/1,000 population (1994 est.) Death rate: 13.53 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.) Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.) Infant mortality rate: 125.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.) Life expectancy at birth: total population: 54.75 years male: 54.49 years female: 55.01 years (1994 est.) Total fertility rate: 7.25 children born/woman (1994 est.) Nationality: noun: Somali(s) adjective: Somali Ethnic divisions: Somali 85%, Bantu, Arabs 30,000, Europeans 3,000, Asians 800 Religions: Sunni Muslim Languages: Somali (official), Arabic, Italian, English Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.) total population: 24% male: 36% female: 14% Labor force: 2.2 million (very few are skilled laborers) by occupation: pastoral nomad 70%, agriculture, government, trading, fishing, handicrafts, and other 30% note: 53% of population of working age (1985)
@Somalia, Government