Head of state: Queen Elizabeth II, represented by a governor-general Prime minister: Danny Philip
President: Ikililou Dhoinine
Population
584,578
737,284
Life Expectancy
74.420 years
62.740 years
Capital City
Moroni
Largest city
Honiara (population: 56,298)
Moroni (population: 42,872)
Human Development Index
0.591
0.572
GDP per capita
$1,200 US
Literacy Rate
%
56.5%
Corruption Perception Index
2.9
2.5
Percentage of Women in Parliament
0%
0%
Wealthiest Citizens
Unemployment Rate
20.000%
Death Penalty
Abolished
Legal
Political System
parliamentary democracy
republic
Independence date
6 July 1975 (from France)
Religions
Church of Melanesia 32.8%, Roman Catholic 19%, South Seas Evangelical 17%, Seventh-Day Adventist 11.2%, United Church 10.3%, Christian Fellowship Church 2.4%, other Christian 4.4%, other 2.4%, unspecified 0.3%, none 0.2% (1999 census)
Sunni Muslim 98%, Roman Catholic 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
Arabic (official), French (official), Shikomoro (a blend of Swahili and Arabic)
Comoran francs (KMF) per US dollar - 361.4 (2007), 391.8 (2006), 395.6 (2005), 396.21 (2004), 435.9 (2003) note: the Comoran franc is pegged to the euro at a rate of 491.9677 Comoran francs per euro
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
2.800%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
Location
Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Papua New Guinea
Southern Africa, group of islands at the northern mouth of the Mozambique Channel, about two-thirds of the way between northern Madagascar and northern Mozambique
Area
28,896 km sq
2,235 km sq
Coastline
5,313 km
340 km
Climate
tropical monsoon; few extremes of temperature and weather
