Stats & Facts
Where
Solomon Islands is about 1,796km north- east of Australia, in the south- western Pacific Ocean.
It forms an archipelago of several hundreds islands stretching some 1,400km south- east from Papua New Guinea to the north-west of Vanuatu. The Solomon Islands comprises of nine provinces- Guadalcanal, Malaita, Choisuel, Santa Isabel, Western, Central, Rennell and Bellona, Makira and Temotu.
There’s a wide variety of cultures present in the Solomons with over 80 distinct cultural and ethnic groups, scattered over the 990 individual islands comprising the Solomon Islands, and is also the only country in the pacific region to have three different racial groups present, which are the predominant Melanesian race, Polynesians and Micronesians.
Area
Area 27,556 sq km
Population
409,042 ( 1999 census)
Capital
Honiara
Currency
Solomon dollar (SBD$)
Language
Predominantly English-speaking although locals speak Melanesian pidgin. There are 90 vernacular languages nation-wide.
Climate
Hot and humid year around with the green season occurring December to March. The average temperature is 29 degrees Celsius.
Holidays & Festivals
Public Holidays & Festivals 2009
Jan 01 New Year's Day
Feb 25 Choiseul Province Day
Apr 10-13 Easter
Jun 08 Queens Birthday
Jun 02 Isable Province Day
Jun 08 Temotu Province Day
Jun 29 Central Province Day
Jul 07 Independence Day
Jul 20 Rennell Province Day
Aug 01Guadalcanal Province Day
Aug 03 Makira/Ulawa Province Day
Aug 15 Malaita Province Day
Dec 25 Christmas Day
Useful Contacts
National Tourist Office
Solomon Islands Visitors Bureau
Mendana Avenue
P.O.Box 321
Honiara
Solomon Islands.
Tel: (677) 22442
Fax: (677) 23986
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
For more information on Solomon Islands click on Visit Solomons