GFmag Online Readers Survey 2012
The Solomon Islands


The Solomon Islands Country Report: GDP data and GDP forecasts; economic, financial and trade information; the best banks in The Solomon Islands; country and population overview

DATA ON GDP AND ECONOMIC INFORMATION
Central bankCentral Bank of Solomon Islands
International ReservesUS$ 265.836 million (Source: World Bank; Data updated: November 2010)
Gross Domestic Product - GDPUS$ 770 million (2006 estimate)
GDP (Purchasing Power Parity)1.74 billion of International dollars (2006 estimate)
Real GDP growth
20002001200220032004200520062007
-14.2%-8%-2.8%6.5%4.9%5.4%6.9%10.7%
2008200920102011*
7.3%-1.3%5.6%5.8%

*Estimate

GDP per capita - current pricesUS$ 1,414 (2006 estimate)
GDP per capita - PPP$3,195 International Dollars (2006 estimate)
GDP (PPP) - share of world total
19801990200020102015**
0%0%0%0%0%

**Forecast

GDP - composition by sector
  • agriculture: 29.8% 
  • industry: 7% 
  • services: 63.2% (2011 estimate)

    • (Data released on February 2012)

Gross domestic expenditure on R&D (% of GDP)N/A

(Data released on November 2010)

Inflation
2008200920102011*
17.4%(2008)7.1%1%3.3%

*Estimate

Unemployment rate
2008200920102011*
N/AN/AN/A(2009)N/A

*Estimate

Household saving ratesN/A

(Data released on November 2010)

Public debt (General government gross debt as a % of GDP)
20072008200920102011*
36.8%32.1%28.9%25.8%23.4%

*Estimate

Public deficit (General government net lending/borrowing as a % of GDP)
2007200820092010*2011**
1.3%-0.3%2.2%2.4%2.2%

*Estimate    **Forecast

Government bond ratings

Standard & Poor's: N/A

Moody's rating: N/A

Moody's outlook: N/A

(Foreign Currency Government Bond Ratings; Data last updated Nov 2010)

Market value of publicly traded shares
200720082009
N/AN/AN/A
Largest companies in The Solomon IslandsN/A
DATA ON TRADE AND COMPETITIVENESS
Current account balanceUS$ -0.1 billion (2009 estimate)(After 2008)
Current account balance by percentage of GDP-16.8% of GDP (2006 estimate)(2009)
Exports as percent of GDP

(Exports of goods and services)

36.1% (2006)

(Data released on December 2010)

Shares in world total merchandising export0%(2007)

(Data were released in Nov 2011 and refer to 2010)

Shares in world total commercial services export0%(2007)

(Data were released in Nov 2011 and refer to 2010)

Total exportsN/A
Export commoditiestimber, fish, copra, palm oil, cocoa
Total importsUS$256 million f.o.b. (2006)
Import commoditiesfood, plant and equipment, manufactured goods, fuels, chemicals
Exports - major partnersChina 50.8%, South Korea 7%, Thailand 6.5%, Japan 5.7%, Philippines 4.3% (2007)
Imports - major partnersSingapore 28.2%, Australia 25.4%, Japan 4.6%, NZ 4.5%, Fiji 4% (2007)
FDI inflows
200820092010
US$95 millionUS$120 million(2009)US$238 million(2009)
FDI outflows
200820092010
US$4 millionUS$3 millionUS$2 million
Value of cross-border M&A, by country of purchaser
2008200920102011
N/AN/A(2009)N/A(2009)N/A
Cross-border M&A deals worth over $3 billion completed in 2008

(Acquiring company, Acquired company, Country of the acquired company, Value of the deal)

N/A

(for a monthly update on M&A click here )

Cross-border M&A deals worth over $3 billion completed in 2010

(Acquiring company, Acquired company, Country of the acquired company, Value of the deal)

N/A(2008 estimate)

(for a monthly update on M&A click here )

Best countries for doing business

World Bank/IFC Doing Business Project

(Economies are ranked on their ease of doing business, from 1 – 183. A high ranking means the regulatory environment is more conducive to the starting and operation of a local firm.)

Overall ranking: 96 out of 183 countries(2009) (2010)

Subcategories:

Starting a business: 112 out of 183 countries(2009)

Registering property: 173 out of 183 countries

Paying Taxes: 51 out of 183 countries

Getting credit: 89 out of 183 countries

Protecting investors: 59 out of 183 countries

Trading across border: 86 out of 183 countries

Enforcing Contracts: 108 out of 183 countries

(2010)

Global competitiveness ranking
(ranking by country on a basis of 142, the first is the best)		N/A

(2011/2012)

Index of Economic Freedom

WSJ and Heritage Foundation

Ranking: 162 Score: 45.9 (Repressed) (2009)

(100=totally free 0=totally repressed )

COUNTRY AND POPULATION OVERVIEW
Time zoneUTC+11
Total area 28,896 km2 (2006)
CapitalHoniara (2009)
CurrencySolomon Islands dollars (SBD) (2009)
Government typeparliamentary democracy and a Commonwealth realm (2009)
LanguagesMelanesian pidgin in much of the country is lingua franca; English (official; but spoken by only 1%-2% of the population); 120 indigenous languages
ReligionsChurch 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)
Total population
1980199020002010*2015**
0.23 million0.32 million0.42 million0.53 million0.59 million

*Estimate    **Forecast

Urban population as % of total population
1960198020002009
5.8%10.6%15.7%18.3%
Population median age20.0 years (2006)
Population growth rate2.4% (2009)
Life expectancy63 years (2007)
Adult literacyN/A
% of population living on less than $2 a dayN/A
Inequality of wealth distribution (Gini index)

N/A

(0=perfect equality, 100=absolute inequality)

Freedom House rating

Political Rights:4
Civil Liberties:3 (2010)

(1 represents the most free, 7 the least free)

Total telephone subscribers as % of population

7.14% (2010)

(sum of fixed telephone lines and mobile cellular subscribers)

Internet users as % of total population5% (Data were released in 2011 and refer to 2010)
Cost of living index

(ranking by city on a basis of 214; the 1st is the most expensive and the 214th is the least expensive)

N/A

CO2 emissions
(Metric tons of CO2 per capita)

0.3877 (2008)

GLOBAL FINANCE RANKINGS AND AWARDS
ARTICLES AND COUNTRIES REPORTS FROM GLOBAL FINANCE ARCHIVE