Solomon Islands - Geography

Here, let us take a look at the Geography of Solomon Islands. Strategic location on sea routes between the South Pacific Ocean, the Solomon Sea, and the Coral Sea; Rennell Island, the southernmost in the Solomon Islands chain, is one of the world’s largest raised coral atolls; the island’s Lake Tegano, formerly a lagoon on the atoll, is the largest lake in the insular Pacific (15,500 hectares; 38,300 acres). Mother's mean age at first birth is 22.6 years (2015 est.) (Note: data represents median age at first birth among women 25-29), whereas, the Maternal mortality ratio is 122 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)

Geographical data of Solomon Islands
Location Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Papua New Guinea
Geographic coordinates 8 00 S, 159 00 E
Map references Oceania
Tarrain mostly rugged mountains with some low coral atolls
Natural Resources fish, forests, gold, bauxite, phosphates, lead, zinc, nickel
Natural Hazards

tropical cyclones, but rarely destructive; geologically active region with frequent earthquakes, tremors, and volcanic activity; tsunamis

volcanism: Tinakula (851 m) has frequent eruption activity, while an eruption of Savo (485 m) could affect the capital Honiara on nearby Guadalcanal
Irrigated Land 0 sq km (2022)
Major rivers (by length in km)
Major aquifers
Land Boundaries 0 km
Border Countries
Coastline 5,313 km
Climate tropical monsoon; few temperature and weather extremes
Area
Total Area
Land Area 27,986 sq km
Water Area 910 sq km
comparative Area slightly smaller than Maryland
Maritime Claims
Territorial sea 12 nm
Exclusive economic zone 200 nm
Continental shelf 200 nm
Elevations
Highest point Mount Popomanaseu 2,335 m
Lowest point Pacific Ocean 0 m
Land Use
Agricultural land 4.3% (2022 est.)
Agricultural land: arable land arable land: 0.8% (2022 est.)
Agricultural land: permanent crops permanent crops: 3.2% (2022 est.)
Agricultural land: permanent pasture permanent pasture: 0.3% (2022 est.)
Forest 90.1% (2022 est.)
Other 5.6% (2022 est.)
Population Distribution

Most of the population lives along the coastal regions; about one in five live in urban areas, and of these about two thirds reside in Honiara, the largest town and chief port

People and Society

In Solomon Islands, the different Ethnic groups are such that we have: Melanesian 95.3%, Polynesian 3.1%, Micronesian 1.2%, other 0.3% (2009 est.)

Population
Pop growth rate 1.65% (2024 est.)
Birth rate 22 births/1,000 population (2024 est.)
Death rate 3.9 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.)
Health expenditure
Physicians Density
Hospital bed Density
Total fertility rate 2.77 children born/woman (2024 est.)
Gross reproduction rate 1.35 (2024 est.)
Contraceptive prevalence rate 29.3% (2015)
Est married women (ages 15-49) 64.1% (2023 est.)
Literacy
Education expenditures
Net Migration rate -1.5 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2024 est.)
Nationality Solomon Islander | Solomon Islander(s)
Languages Melanesian pidgin (lingua franca in much of the country), English (official but spoken by only 1%-2% of the population), 120 indigenous languages
Religions Protestant 73.4% (Church of Melanesia 31.9%, South Sea Evangelical 17.1%, Seventh Day Adventist 11.7%, United Church 10.1%, Christian Fellowship Church 2.5%), Roman Catholic 19.6%, other Christian 2.9%, other 4%, unspecified 0.1% (2009 est.)
Age Structure
0-14 years 30.6% (male 114,246/female 108,020)
15-64 years 64.2% (male 238,708/female 227,636)
65 years and over 5.3% (2024 est.) (male 18,016/female 20,173)
Dependency Ratios
Total dependency ratio 55.9 (2024 est.)
Youth dependency ratio 47.7 (2024 est.)
Elderly dependency ratio 8.2 (2024 est.)
Potential support ratio 12.2 (2024 est.)
Median Age
Total 25.2 years (2024 est.)
Male 25 years
Female 25.4 years
Urbanization
Urban population 26% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization 3.57% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Major urban areas (Pop) 82,000 HONIARA (capital) (2018).
Sex Ratio
At birth 1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years 1.05 male(s)/female
65 years and over 0.89 male(s)/female
Total population 1.04 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
Infant Motality
Total 19.1 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.)
Male 22.7 deaths/1,000 live births
Female 15.2 deaths/1,000 live births
Life Expectancy at birth
Total population 77.2 years (2024 est.)
Male 74.6 years
Female 80 years
Drinking Water Sources
Improved: urban urban: 95% of population
Improved: rural rural: 65.9% of population
Improved: total total: 73.1% of population
Unimproved: urban urban: 5% of population
Unimproved: rural rural: 34.1% of population
Unimproved: total total: 26.9% of population (2020 est.)
Sanitation facility acess
Improved: urban urban: 95.6% of population
Improved: rural rural: 22.6% of population
Improved: total total: 40.6% of population
Unimproved: urban urban: 4.4% of population
Unimproved: rural rural: 77.4% of population
Unimproved: total total: 59.4% of population (2020 est.)
Alcohol consumption per capita
Total 1.19 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Beer 1.1 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Wine 0.06 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Spirits 0.02 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Other alcohols 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Tobacco use
Total 36.8% (2025 est.)
Male 54.5% (2025 est.)
Female 18.8% (2025 est.)
Child marriage
Women married by age 15 5.6% (2015)
Women married by age 18 21.3% (2015)
Men married by age 18 4.4% (2015)
Demographic profile
All Important Facts about Solomon Islands

Want to know more about Solomon Islands? Check all different factbooks for Solomon Islands below.

Solomon Islands is found in Melanesia