l, cocoa, copra

Exports - partners: Japan 50%, Spain 16%, UK, Thailand 5% (1996)

Imports: $160 million (c.i.f., 1998 est.)

Imports - commodities: plant and equipment, manufactured goods, food
and live animals, fuel

Imports - partners: Australia 42%, Japan 10%, Singapore 9%, NZ 8%, US
5% (1996)

Debt - external: $135 million (1997)

Economic aid - recipient: $46.4 million (1995)

Currency: 1 Solomon Islands dollar (SI$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: Solomon Islands dollars (SI$) per US$1 - 5.0745
(January 2000), 4.8381 (1999), 4.8156 (1998), 3.5664 (1997), 3.4059
(1995)

Fiscal year: calendar year

@Solomon Islands:Communications

Telephones - main lines in use: 7,000 (1995)

Telephones - mobile cellular: 230 (1995)

Telephone system:
domestic: NA
international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 3, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998)

Radios: 57,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations: 0 (1997)

Televisions: 3,000 (1997)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs): NA

@Solomon Islands:Transportation

Railways: 0 km

Highways:
total: 1,360 km
paved: 34 km
unpaved: 1,326 km (includes about 800 km of private plantation roads)
(1996 est.)

Ports and harbors: Aola Bay, Honiara, Lofung, Noro, Viru Harbor,
Yandina

Merchant marine: none (1999 est.)

Airports: 33 (1999 est.)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (1999 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 31
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 8
under 914 m: 21 (1999 est.)

@Solomon Islands:Military

Military branches: no regular military forces; Solomon Islands
National Reconnaissance and Surveillance Force; Royal Solomon Islands
Police (RSIP)

Military expenditures - dollar figure: $NA

Military expenditures - percent of GDP: NA%

@Solomon Islands:Transnational Issues

Disputes - international: none

______________________________________________________________________

SOMALIA

@Somalia:Introduction

Background: Intermittent civil war has been a fact of life in Somalia
since 1977. In 1991, the northern portion of the country declared its
independence as Somaliland; although de facto independent and
relatively stable compared to the tumultuous south, it has not been
recognized by any foreign government. Beginning in 1993, a two-year UN
humanitarian effort (primarily in the south) was able to alleviate
famine conditions, but when