nister Sir Allen KEMAKEZA sought the intervention
of Australia to aid in restoring order; parliament approved the
request for intervention in July 2003; troops from Australia, New
Zealand, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, and Tonga arrived 24 July 2003

Economy Solomon Islands

Economy - overview:
The bulk of the population depends on agriculture, fishing, and
forestry for at least part of their livelihood. Most manufactured
goods and petroleum products must be imported. The islands are rich
in undeveloped mineral resources such as lead, zinc, nickel, and
gold. However, severe ethnic violence, the closing of key business
enterprises, and an empty government treasury have led to serious
economic disarray, indeed near collapse. Tanker deliveries of
crucial fuel supplies (including those for electrical generation)
have become sporadic due to the government's inability to pay and
attacks against ships. Telecommunications are threatened by the
nonpayment of bills and by the lack of technical and maintenance
staff many of whom have left the country. The disintegration of law
and order left the economy in tatters by mid-2003, and on 24 July
2003 more than 2000 Australian soldiers entered the Solomon Islands
to restore order and to facilitate the restoration of basic services.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $800 million (2001 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
-10% (2001 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2001 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 42%
industry: 11%
services: 47% (2000 est.)

Population below poverty line:
NA

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
9% (2002 est.)

Labor force:
26,840 (1999)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 75%, industry 5%, services 20% (2000 est.)

Unemployment rate:
NA

Budget:
revenues: $38 million
expenditures: NA, including capital expenditures of NA (2001)

Agriculture - products:
cocoa beans, coconuts, palm kernels, rice, potatoes, vegetables,
fruit; cattle, pigs; timber; fish

Industries:
fish (tuna), mining, timber

Industrial production growth rate:
NA

Electricity - production:
32 million kWh (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
29.76 million kWh (2001)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2001)

Oil - production:
0