Solomon Islands

Over

Countries

Since 1924

Years

(WIPO code: SB)

(latest review March 2024)

by PHILLIPS ORMONDE FITZPATRICK – Patent & Trade Mark Attorneys, Melbourne, Australia

General Information

Area

28,896 sq. km.

Population

714,766 (2023).

Capital

Honiara, on the island of Guadalcanal.

Currency

Solomon Islands dollar (SBD).

Language(s)

English (official) and 120 indigenous languages, including Melanesian Pidgin, Polynesian, Papuan. English is spoken by 1%-2% only.

GDP

U.S.$ 1.703 billion (2021 est.); U.S.$ 2,400 per capita (2021 est.).

Agriculture

Oil palm fruit, sweet potatoes, coconuts, taro, yams, fruit, pulses nes, vegetables, cocoa, cassava.

Labor force

75% agriculture, 20% services, 5% industry.

Exports

Lumber, fish, aluminium, palm oil, cocoa beans.

General Remarks

This archipelago Nation includes Southern Solomon Islands, primarily Guadalcanal, Malaita, San Cristobal, Santa Isabel, Choiseul. The Nation, a parliamentary democracy within the Commonwealth of Nations, became independent on July 7, 1978. It has a mixed legal system of English common law and customary law. From 2003 to 2017, the Regional Assistance to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI) led by Australia and New Zealand, consisting of police, military and civilian advisors drawn from fifteen countries restored civil and political order and rebuilt government institutions, while reinforcing regional stability, although unrest is not uncommon. There has been modest growth in the economy. In 2021, the Nation had experienced heightened political unrest.