The Solomon Islanders comprise diverse cultures, languages, and customs. Of its 552,438 persons, 94.5% are Melanesian, 3% Polynesian, and 1.2% Micronesian. ^[1] In addition, small numbers of Europeans and Chinese are registered. About 120 vernaculars are spoken. Map showing Melanesia. ... Carving from the ridgepole of a Māori house, ca 1840 Polynesia (from Greek: πολύς many, νῆσος island) is a large grouping of over 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. ... This article is about the continent. ... Look up Vernacular in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Most people reside in small, widely dispersed settlements along the coasts. Sixty percent live in localities with fewer than 200 persons, and only 10% reside in urban areas.

The capital city of Honiara, situated on Guadalcanal, the largest island, has over 30,000 inhabitants. The other principal towns are Gizo, Auki, and Kirakira. Honiara, population 49,107 (1999), is the capital of the Solomon Islands and of Guadalcanal Province, although it is a separately administered town. ... Guadalcanal, position (inset) and main towns Guadalcanal is a 2,510 square mile (6 500 km²) island in the Pacific Ocean and a province of the Solomon Islands. ... A map of Gizo Island Gizo is the capital of the Western province in the Solomon Islands. ... Auki is the provincial capital of Malaita Province, Solomon Islands. ... Kirakira is a town in the Solomon Islands. ...

Most Solomon Islanders are Christian, with the Anglican, Roman Catholic, South Seas Evangelical, and Seventh-day Adventist faiths predominating. About 5% of the population maintain traditional beliefs. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Christianity. ... The term Anglican describes those people and churches following the religious traditions of the Church of England, especially following the Reformation. ... The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ... The South Seas Evangelical Church (SSEC) is an non-denominational evangelical church in the Solomon Islands. ... Seventh-day Adventist Churchs logo The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a Christian denomination distinguished by their doctrinal beliefs that the literal, visible second coming of Jesus Christ is imminent, and that the seventh-day Sabbath of the Ten Commandments (Saturday) is the authentic biblical day of rest and...

The chief characteristics of the traditional Melanesian social structure are:

• The practice of subsistence economy;
• The recognition of bonds of kinship, with important obligations extending beyond the immediate family group;
• Generally egalitarian relationships, emphasizing acquired rather than inherited status; and
• A strong attachment of the people to the land.

Most Solomon Islanders maintain this traditional social structure and find their roots in village life. Media:Example. ...

Demographics of the Solomon Islands, Data of FAO, year 2005 ; Number of inhabitants in thousands.

Population: 466,194 (July 2000 est.) Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Possible meanings: Faro Airport (Portugal) Federation of Astrobiology Organizations Financial Aid Office Food and Agriculture Organization This page expands a three-character combination which might be any or all of: an abbreviation, an acronym, an initialism, a word in English, or a word in another language. ...

Age structure:
0-14 years: 44% (male 105,024; female 101,065)
15-64 years: 53% (male 124,627; female 121,358)
65 years and over: 3% (male 6,935; female 7,185) (2000 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.61% (2006 est.)

Birth rate: 34.79 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Death rate: 4.35 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.97 male(s)/female
total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2000 est.) Sex ratio by country for total population. ...

Infant mortality rate: 25.26 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 71.28 years
male: 68.86 years
female: 73.81 years (2000 est.) In demography, life expectancy is a statistical measure of the average, or mathematical expected value, of the remaining lifetime of an individual in the given group. ...

Total fertility rate: 4.8 children born/woman (2000 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Solomon Islander(s)
adjective: Solomon Islander

Ethnic groups: Melanesian 93%, Polynesian 4%, Micronesian 1.5%, European 0.8%, Chinese 0.3%, other 0.4% Map showing Melanesia. ... Carving from the ridgepole of a Māori house, ca 1840 Polynesia (from Greek: πολύς many, νῆσος island) is a large grouping of over 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. ... This article is about the continent. ...

Religions: Anglican 34%, Roman Catholic 19%, Baptist 17%, United (Methodist/Presbyterian) 11%, Seventh-day Adventist 10%, other Protestant 5%, indigenous beliefs 4% The term Anglican describes those people and churches following the religious traditions of the Church of England, especially following the Reformation. ... The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ... Baptist is a term describing a tradition within Christianity and may also refer to individuals belonging to a Baptist church or a Baptist denomination. ... The Methodist movement is a group of denominations of Protestant Christianity. ... Presbyterianism is part of the Reformed churches family of denominations of Christian Protestantism based on the teachings of John Calvin which traces its institutional roots to the Scottish Reformation, especially as led by John Knox. ... Seventh-day Adventist Churchs logo The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a Christian denomination distinguished by their doctrinal beliefs that the literal, visible second coming of Jesus Christ is imminent, and that the seventh-day Sabbath of the Ten Commandments (Saturday) is the authentic biblical day of rest and... Protestantism is a general grouping of denominations within Christianity. ...

Languages: Melanesian pidgin in much of the country is lingua franca, English spoken by 1%-2% of population
note: 120 indigenous languages A pidgin, or contact language, is the name given to any language created, usually spontaneously, out of two or more languages as a means of communication between speakers of different tongues, and usually a simplified form of one of the languages. ... Lingua franca, literally Frankish language in Italian, was originally a mixed language consisting largely of Italian plus a vocabulary drawn from Turkish, Persian, French, Greek and Arabic and used for communication throughout the Middle East. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ...

Literacy:
definition: NA
total population: NA%
male: NA%
female: NA%

See also : Solomon Islands

References