Melanesia
Coral · Tribal · Remote
Solomon Islands is a country located in Melanesia. Its capital city is Honiara, with other major cities including Gizo and Auki. With a population of approximately 720,000, the main languages spoken are English, Pijin. The country covers an area of 28,896 km². The official currency is the Solomon Islands dollar ($). Traffic drives on the left side.
The Battle of Guadalcanal (1942–43) in the Solomon Islands was one of the most significant Pacific battles of WWII; so many ships were sunk in 'Iron Bottom Sound' near Honiara that it became a world-famous wreck diving site.
Honiara serves as the political, cultural and economic heart of Solomon Islands, positioned in Melanesia. As the seat of government and often the most populous city, it concentrates the country's main institutions, universities and cultural landmarks. Beyond the capital, major cities include Gizo, Auki — each a hub of regional culture, economy and history. Honiara was built on the site of WWII battles on Guadalcanal — the six-month 1942-43 campaign that turned the Pacific war's momentum — and retains a raw, frontier-capital quality where container ships from Australia dock at the same harbour from which Japanese supply ships once ran the 'Tokyo Express' supply route down 'The Slot' between the islands.
With a population of approximately 720,000, Solomon Islands is a vibrant society with a rich mix of traditions and communities. The principal languages spoken are English, Pijin, which reflect the country's cultural heritage and open doors to a wide international community. Internationally, Solomon Islands is reached via the dialling code +677. Solomon Islanders maintained dozens of distinct cultural traditions across 80 languages on 900 islands — the geographic fragmentation that made WWII logistics complex also prevented the cultural homogenisation that colonial administration typically accelerated, preserving in living form traditions of customary land ownership, kastom (traditional law), and the Solomon Islands pijin (creole language) that bridges communities across islands.
Solomon Islands spans 28,896 km², in the Melanesia subregion of Oceania. Geographically centred around 8.0°S, 159.0°E, the country offers a diverse range of landscapes shaped by its location, climate and geology. Road traffic follows the left-hand rule, in line with surrounding Oceania convention.
The official currency is the Solomon Islands dollar ($), used for everyday transactions and commerce throughout the country. Solomon Islands's economy is shaped by its geography, natural resources and trade relationships. Business and daily life operate under UTC+11:00, aligning the country with its regional neighbours.
Football / Rugby holds a special place in the heart of Solomon Islands's national identity. Football and rugby are the primary sports, with the Solomon Islands national football team competing in OFC qualification for the World Cup — a tournament structure that gives Pacific nations some route to qualification though geography makes participation challenging — while the traditional sport of nguzunguzu (traditional canoe paddling) maintains the maritime athletic culture of communities who navigated the Pacific long before Europeans arrived.
The highest point in Solomon Islands is Mount Makarakomburu, rising to 2,447 metres above sea level. Marovo Lagoon in the Western Province is the world's largest saltwater lagoon — 700 square kilometres of reef-protected water between chains of volcanic and limestone islands — whose coral gardens were described by Jacques Cousteau as among the most diverse in the world, in waters where the meeting of deep oceanic and shallow lagoon ecosystems creates conditions for extraordinary marine biodiversity.