Country · Oceania
Solomon Islands
The Solomon Islands are a country in Melanesia. About 653 000 people live there, in an area of 28 896 square kilometres. Their capital city is Honiara.
Picture credit: Phenss (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Stefan Krasowski (CC BY 2.0) · Friars Balsam (CC BY 2.0) · Kahunapule Michael Johnson (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where are the Solomon Islands?
The Solomon Islands lie in Melanesia, on the continent of Oceania.
They sit in the southern half of the world, roughly 891 km from the equator.
Their coastline is about 5 313 km long.
They have no land neighbours — every border they have is with the sea.
How big are the Solomon Islands?
The Solomon Islands cover 28 896 square kilometres.
That is about 11 times the size of Luxembourg.
Among the world's countries that makes them the 139th largest.
Spread everybody out evenly and you get about 22.6 people on every square kilometre.
That is emptier than the world average of roughly 60 people per square kilometre.
Who lives in the Solomon Islands?
About 653 000 people live in the Solomon Islands.
That is the 161st biggest population in the world.
People here speak English.
They pay with the Solomon Islands dollar ($).
On average, people born here can expect to live about 71 years.
The land of the Solomon Islands
Their coast runs for about 5 313 km. Walking it end to end, at twenty kilometres a day, would take roughly 266 days.
They lie inside the tropics, which is the single biggest reason their weather is the way it is.
What makes the Solomon Islands different?
Websites from here often end in .sb.
The Solomon Islands and the rest of the world
Out of every thousand people alive on Earth, about one lives in the Solomon Islands.
They take up about 0.02 % of all the land that countries stand on.
Within Oceania the country ranks 4th of 14 by size, and 5th by population.
Nature and animals
Of the animals on this site, 3 live wild in the Solomon Islands: Giant clam, Coconut crab and Red lionfish. The highest mountain in the country is Mount Popomanaseu, at 2 335 metres. The longest river in the country is the Mbokokimbo River. The largest lake in the country is Lake Tegano.
Photographs from Wikimedia Commons under free licences — every credit is on the page itself and in the picture credits.
How big are the Solomon Islands compared with the United States?
- The United States is about 324 times as big as the Solomon Islands: 9 372 610 km² against 28 896 km².
- The United Kingdom is about 8.4 times as big as the Solomon Islands: 242 900 km² against 28 896 km².
Questions children ask
What is the capital of the Solomon Islands?
The capital of the Solomon Islands is Honiara. It is the city where the government works from.
How many people live in the Solomon Islands?
About 653 000 people live in the Solomon Islands, which makes them the 161st most populated country in the world. (Source: World Bank, 2018.)
How big are the Solomon Islands?
The Solomon Islands cover 28 896 square kilometres, making them the 139th largest country in the world. That is about 11 times the size of Luxembourg.
What is the highest mountain in the Solomon Islands?
The highest mountain in the Solomon Islands is Mount Popomanaseu, 2 335 metres above sea level. It is the country's highest point.
What is the longest river in the Solomon Islands?
The longest river in the Solomon Islands is the Mbokokimbo River, about 99 kilometres long.
What is the largest lake in the Solomon Islands?
The largest lake in the Solomon Islands is Lake Tegano. It covers about 155 km².
Which continent are the Solomon Islands in?
The Solomon Islands are in Oceania, in the part called Melanesia.
Where these numbers come from
Borders and outlines: Natural Earth. Names, capitals, areas, languages and currencies: ISO 3166 data (world-countries). Population: World Bank, 2018. Every derived figure on this page (ranks, density, distance from the equator) is calculated from those values.
Last checked: · How these pages are made