Economy - overview:
The bulk of the population depends on 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. However, severe ethnic violence, the closing of key business enterprises, and an empty government treasury have led to serious economic disarray, indeed near collapse. Tanker deliveries of crucial fuel supplies (including those for electrical generation) have become sporadic due to the government's inability to pay and attacks against ships. Telecommunications are threatened by the nonpayment of bills and by the lack of technical and maintenance staff many of whom have left the country.
GDP:
purchasing power parity - $800 million (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
-10% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 42%
industry: 11%
services: 47% (2000 est.)
Population below poverty line:
NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
1.8% (2001 est.)
Labor force:
26,842
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 75%, industry 5%, services 20% (2000 est.)
Unemployment rate:
NA%
Budget:
revenues: $38 million
expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001)
Industries:
fish (tuna), mining, timber
Industrial production growth rate:
NA%
Electricity - production:
32 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0%
other: 0% (2001)
nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption:
29.76 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2001)
Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption:
1,250 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports:
NA (2001)
Oil - imports:
NA (2001)
Agriculture - products:
cocoa beans, coconuts, palm kernels, rice, potatoes, vegetables, fruit; cattle, pigs; timber; fish
Exports:
$47 million f.o.b. (2001 est.)
Exports - commodities:
timber, fish, copra, palm oil, cocoa
Exports - partners:
Japan 19.8%, South Korea 17.8%, Philippines 11.3%, China 9.6%, Thailand 8.6%, UK 1.2% (2001)
Imports:
$82 million f.o.b. (2001 est.)
Imports - commodities:
food, plant and equipment, manufactured goods, fuels, chemicals
Imports - partners:
Australia 29.3%, Singapore 18.3%, US 7.1%, NZ 4.9%, Fiji 3.7%, Japan 3.4% (2000)
Debt - external:
$137 million (2001 est.)
Economic aid - recipient:
$28 million mainly from Japan, Australia, China, and NZ (2001 est.)
Currency:
Solomon Islands dollar (SBD)
Currency code:
SBD
Exchange rates:
Solomon Islands dollars per US dollar - NA (2002), NA (2001), 5.0889 (2000), 4.8381 (1999), 4.8157 (1998)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
NOTE: The information regarding Solomon Islands on this page is re-published from the 2003 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Guinea Geography 2003 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Solomon Islands Economy 2003 should be addressed to the CIA.
