Full Name

Solomon Islands

Land Area (sq km)

28,896

Population Size

478,000

Population Density

16.54

Year of Independence

1978

GDP per capita ($US)

626

HDI

128

Age Structure

0-14 years: 40.7%

15-64 years: 55.9%

65 years and over: 3.3%

Ethnic Groups

Melanesian 94.5%, Polynesian 3%, Micronesian 1.2%, other 1.1%, unspecified 0.2%

Languages

Melanesian pidgin in much of the country is lingua franca; English (official; but spoken by only 1%-2% of the population); 120 indigenous languages

Religion