| 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 a
continuing economic downslide. Deliveries of crucial fuel supplies
(including those for electrical generation) by tankers have become
sporadic due to the government's inability to pay and attacks against
ships. Telecommunications are threatened by the lack of technical and
maintenance staff many of whom have left the country.
GDP: purchasing
power parity - $900 million (2000 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 3.5% (1999 est.), 1% (2000 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $2,000 (2000 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 50%
industry: 3.5%
services: 46.5% (1995)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 10% (1999 est.)
Labor force: 26,842
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA%
Budget:
revenues: $147 million
expenditures: $168 million (1997 est.)
Industries: fish (tuna), mining, timber
Electricity - production: 30 million kWh (1998)
Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1998)
Electricity - consumption: 28 million kWh (1998)
Agriculture - products: cocoa, beans, coconuts, palm kernels, rice, potatoes,
vegetables, fruit; cattle, pigs; timber; fish
Exports: $142 million (f.o.b., 1998 est.)
Exports - commodities: timber, fish, palm oil, cocoa, copra
Exports - partners: Japan 50%, Spain 16%, United
Kingdom, Thailand 5% (1996)
Imports: $160 million (c.i.f., 1998 est.)
Imports - commodities: plant and equipment, manufactured goods, food and live
animals, fuel
Imports - partners: Australia 42%, Japan 10%, Singapore 9%, New Zealand
8%, United
States 5% (1996)
Debt - external: $135 million (1997)
Economic aid - recipient: $46.4 million (1995)
Currency: 1 Solomon Islands dollar (SI$) = 100 cents
SOURCE: The World Factbook |