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EDUCATION AND HEALTH CARE IN THE SOLOMON ISLANDS
Education Expenditures: 12.8 percent of GDP (2020 estimate); ranking compared to other countries in the world: 2. [Source: CIA World Factbook 2023]
Literacy: total population: NA; male: NA; female: NA. [Source: CIA World Factbook 2023]
Youth Unemployment Rate (ages 15-24): total: 1.9 percent; male: 1.6 percent; female: 2.3 percent (2021 estimate); ranking compared to other countries in the world: 200
Health Expenditures: 4.4 percent of GDP (2020). [Source: CIA World Factbook 2023]
Number of Doctors: 0.19 physicians per 1,000 people (2016). [Source: CIA World Factbook 2023]
Number of Hospital Beds: 1.4 beds per 1,000 people (2012). [Source: CIA World Factbook 2023]
Sanitation Access: improved: urban: 95.6 percent of population; rural: 22.6 percent of population; total: 40.6 percent of population; unimproved: urban: 4.4 percent of population; rural: 77.4 percent of population; total: 59.4 percent of population (2020 estimate). [Source: CIA World Factbook 2023]
Energy in the Solomon Islands
Energy Consumption Per Capita: 6.955 million Btu/person (2019 estimate); ranking compared to other countries in the world: 165. [Source: CIA World Factbook, 2023]
Carbon Dioxide Emissions: 333,000 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 estimate)
from coal and metallurgical coke: 0 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 estimate)
from petroleum and other liquids: 333,000 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 estimate)
from consumed natural gas: 0 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 estimate); ranking compared to other countries in the world: emissions 194.
[Source: CIA World Factbook, 2023]
Electricity in the Solomon Islands
Access to Electricity: electrification: total population: 76.3 percent (2021); electrification: urban areas: 79.2 percent (2021); electrification: rural areas: 75.3 percent (2021). [Source: CIA World Factbook, 2023]
Electricity Consumption and Production: installed generating capacity: 40,000 kW (2020 estimate)
consumption: 93.527 million kWh (2019 estimate)
exports: 0 kWh (2020 estimate)
imports: 0 kWh (2020 estimate)
transmission/distribution losses: 14 million kWh (2019 estimate)
comparison rankings: installed generating capacity 196; consumption 196; exports 133; imports 146; transmission/distribution losses 190. [Source: CIA World Factbook, 2023]
Sources of Electricity Generation: fossil fuels: 94.8 percent of total installed capacity (2020 estimate)
nuclear: 0 percent of total installed capacity (2020 estimate)
solar: 2.7 percent of total installed capacity (2020 estimate)
wind: 0 percent of total installed capacity (2020 estimate)
hydroelectricity: 0 percent of total installed capacity (2020 estimate)
tide and wave: 0 percent of total installed capacity (2020 estimate)
geothermal: 0 percent of total installed capacity (2020 estimate)
biomass and waste: 2.6 percent of total installed capacity (2020 estimate).
[Source: CIA World Factbook, 2023]
Oil, Coal and Natural Gas
Coal: production: 0 metric tons (2020 estimate)
consumption: 0 metric tons (2020 estimate)
exports: 0 metric tons (2020 estimate)
imports: 0 metric tons (2020 estimate)
proven reserves: 0 metric tons (2019 estimate).
[Source: CIA World Factbook, 2023]
Petroleum: total petroleum production: 0 bbl/day (2021 estimate)
refined petroleum consumption: 2,200 bbl/day (2019 estimate)
crude oil and lease condensate exports: 0 bbl/day (2018 estimate)
crude oil and lease condensate imports: 0 bbl/day (2018 estimate)
crude oil estimated reserves: 0 barrels (2021 estimate)
Refined petroleum products: production
0 bbl/day (2015 estimate); ranking compared to other countries in the world: 199.
[Source: CIA World Factbook, 2023]
Refined Petroleum Products: Exports: 0 bbl/day (2015 estimate); ranking compared to other countries in the world: 137. Imports: 1,577 bbl/day (2015 estimate); ranking compared to other countries in the world: 194. Source: CIA World Factbook, 2023]
Natural Gas: production: 0 cubic meters (2021 estimate)
consumption: 0 cubic meters (2021 estimate)
exports: 0 cubic meters (2021 estimate)
imports: 0 cubic meters (2021 estimate)
proven reserves: 0 cubic meters (2021 estimate).
[Source: CIA World Factbook, 2023]
Communications in the Solomon Islands
Telephones: Fixed Lines: total subscriptions: 7,000 (2021 estimate); subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: (2021 estimate) less than 1; ranking compared to other countries in the world: subscriptions 198. [Source: CIA World Factbook, 2023]
Mobile Telephones: total subscriptions: 470,000 (2021 estimate); subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 67 (2021 estimate); ranking compared to other countries in the world: subscriptions 175. [Source: CIA World Factbook, 2023]
Telecommunication Systems: general assessment: mobile services have continually expanded in the Solomon Islands; 3G services became available in 2010, leading to an increase in mobile broadband uptake; Solomon Islands currently host three ISPs; fixed broadband services are largely limited to government, corporations, and educational organizations in the Solomon Islands; telecommunication infrastructure in the Solomon Islands requires significant investment due to the geographical make-up of the islands; this presents a great challenge to rural connectivity in the country; although various international organizations such as the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank have taken a special interest in having communication services improved in both the Solomon Islands and the Pacific region in general, internet and broadband penetration remain low; the provision of broadband infrastructure, particularly to rural areas, is also hindered by land disputes; internet services have, improved with the build-out of the Coral Sea Cable System linking Papua New Guinea to the Solomon Islands, as also with a connecting cable to a landing station at Sydney; the Australian government provided most of the funding for the Coral Sea Cable System, with contributions and support from the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea governments; the launch of the Kacific-1 satellite in late 2019 also improved broadband satellite capacity for the region, though for telcos in Solomon Islands satellite services are now largely used as backup for international traffic; in recent years, the country has stabilized both politically and economically and this, along with improvements to mobile infrastructure, has led to a rise in mobile services and the slow uptake of broadband services; while the first LTE services were launched in late 2017 in the capital Honiara, the main platform for mobile voice and data services remains 3G, while in outlying areas GSM is still an important technology for the provision of services (2022). Domestic: fixed-line is less than 1 per 100 persons and mobile-cellular telephone density 67 per 100 persons (2021). International: country code: 677; landing points for the CSCS and ICNS2 submarine cables providing connectivity from Solomon Islands, to PNG, Vanuatu and Australia; satellite earth station: 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) (2019). [Source: CIA World Factbook, 2023]
Broadcast Media: Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation (SIBC) does not broadcast television; multi-channel pay-TV is available; SIBC operates 2 national radio stations and 2 provincial stations; there are 2 local commercial radio stations; Radio Australia is available via satellite feed (since 2009) (2019). [Source: CIA World Factbook, 2023]
Internet Users: total: 255,600 (2021 estimate); Percent of the Population: 36 percent (2021 estimate); ranking compared to other countries in the world: 175; Broadband: Fixed Subscriptions: total: 1,000 (2020 estimate); subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 0.2 (2020 estimate); ranking compared to other countries in the world: 206. Internet Country Code: .sb [Source: CIA World Factbook, 2023]
Transportation in the Solomon Islands
Roads: total: 1,390 kilometers (2011); paved: 34 kilometers (2011); unpaved: 1,356 kilometers (2011). Includes 920 kilometers of private plantation roads; ranking compared to other countries in the world: 175. [Source: CIA World Factbook, 2023]
Water Transport: Merchant Marine: total: 27; By Type: general cargo 9, oil tanker 1, other 17 (2022); ranking compared to other countries in the world: 138; Ports and Terminals: major seaport(s): Honiara, Malloco Bay, Viru Harbor, Tulagi
National Air Transport System: number of registered air carriers: 1 (2020); inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 6; annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 427,806 (2018); annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 3.84 million (2018) mt-km; Civil aircraft registration country code prefix: H4. [Source: CIA World Factbook, 2023]
Airports: 36 (2021); ranking compared to other countries in the world: 108; Airports: with paved runways: 1. Paved runways have a concrete or asphalt surface but not all have facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control; the length of a runway required for aircraft to safely operate depends on a number of factors including the type of aircraft, the takeoff weight (including passengers, cargo, and fuel), engine types, flap settings, landing speed, elevation of the airport, and average maximum daily air temperature; paved runways can reach a length of 5,000 meters (16,000 feet), but the “typical” length of a commercial airline runway is between 2,500-4,000 meters (8,000-13,000 feet); Airports with Unpaved Runways: 35. Unpaved runways have a surface composition such as grass or packed earth and are most suited to the operation of light aircraft; unpaved runways are usually short, often less than 1,000 meters (3,280 feet) in length; airports with unpaved runways often lack facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control. Heliports: 3 (2021). [Source: CIA World Factbook, 2023]
Image Sources:
Text Sources: CIA World Factbook, 2023; “Encyclopedia of World Cultures, Volume 2: Oceania,” edited by Terence E. Hays, 1991, Wikipedia, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Times of London, Lonely Planet Guides, Library of Congress, The Guardian, National Geographic, Smithsonian magazine, The New Yorker, Reuters, Associated Press, AFP, BBC, CNN, and various books, websites and other publications.
Last updated August 2023