(Honiara)

Melanesian pidgin; English is official but spoken by only 1-2% of the population; note: 120 indigenous languages - Solomon Islands dollar (SBD)

• Government: parliamentary democracy tending toward anarchy
• Area: 28,450 sq km
• Population: 494,786 (July 2002 est.)
• Electricity: 240V/50Hz (Australian plug)
• Calling Code: +677
• Internet TLD: .sb
• Time Zone: UTC +11
• Religion: Anglican 45%, Roman Catholic 18%, United (Methodist/Presbyterian) 12%, Baptist 9%, Seventh-day Adventist 7%, other Protestant 5%, indigenous beliefs 4%