Solomon Islands Economy - 2004

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. The disintegration of law and order left the economy in tatters by mid-2003, and on 24 July 2003 more than 2000 Australian soldiers entered the Solomon Islands to restore order and to facilitate the restoration of basic services.

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% (FY95/96 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
9% (2002 est.)

Labor force:
26,842 (1999)

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

Oil - imports:
NA

Agriculture - products:
cocoa beans, coconuts, palm kernels, rice, potatoes, vegetables, fruit; cattle, pigs; timber; fish

Exports:
$90 million f.o.b. (2002 est.)

Exports - commodities:
timber, fish, copra, palm oil, cocoa

Exports - partners:
Japan 21.1%, China 18.9%, South Korea 15.6%, Philippines 10%, Thailand 7.8%, Singapore 4.4% (2002)

Imports:
$100 million f.o.b. (2002 est.)

Imports - commodities:
food, plant and equipment, manufactured goods, fuels, chemicals

Imports - partners:
Australia 32.3%, Singapore 20.2%, Fiji 5.1%, New Zealand 5.1%, Papua New Guinea 4% (2002)

Debt - external:
$162.5 million (2001 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
$23 million annually, mainly from Australia (2000-03 est.)

Currency:
Solomon Islands dollar (SBD)

Currency code:
SBD

Exchange rates:
Solomon Islands dollars per US dollar - NA (2003), 6.75 (2002), 5.28 (2001), 5.09 (2000), 4.84 (1999)