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 basically 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