Travel Alert Status
Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution
Time Difference
UTC+11 (16 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Travel Climate
tropical monsoon; few extremes of temperature and weather
Travel Currency
Solomon Islands dollar (SBD)
Language Spoken
While English is the official language, there are 65 indigenous languages spoken in the Solomons. Solomon Island Pijin enables islanders from differing language groups to communicate. The vocabulary is English, but the grammar is Melanesian. 93% are Melanesians, 4% are Polynesian, and some Micronesians re-settled from the Gilbert Islands.
Languages
Melanesian pidgin in much of the country is lingua franca; English is official but spoken by only 1%-2% of the population.
Ethnic Groups
Melanesian 93%, Polynesian 4%, Micronesian 1.5%, European 0.8%, Chinese 0.3%, other 0.4%
National Holiday
Independence Day, 7 July (1978)
Geographic Coordinates
8 00 S, 159 00 E
Location
Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Papua New Guinea
Airports
1