A per capita GDP of $3,200 ranks Solomon Islands as a lesser developed nation.[5][6] Over 75% of its labour force is engaged in subsistence farming and fishing.
Economic history
A man sells fish at the central market in Honiara, 2013.
Until 1998, when world prices for tropical timber fell steeply, timber was Solomon Islands main export product. In recent years, Solomon Islands forests were dangerously overexploited.
Solomon Islands was particularly hard hit by the Asian financial crisis even before the ethnic violence of June 2000. The Asian Development Bank estimates that the crash of the market for tropical timber reduced Solomon Island's GDP by between 15%-25%. About one-half of all jobs in the timber industry were lost. The government has said it will reform timber harvesting policies with the aim of resuming logging on a more sustainable basis.
In the wake of the ethnic violence in June 2000, exports of palm oil and gold ceased while exports of timber fell.
Economic sectors
Cash crops
Important cash crops and exports include copra and palm oil.
Gold
In 1998 gold production began at Gold Ridge on Guadalcanal.
Fishing
Exploitation of Solomon Islands' rich fisheries offers the best prospect for further export and domestic economic expansion. A Japanese joint venture, Solomon Taiyo Ltd., which operated the only fish cannery in the country, closed in mid-2000 as a result of the ethnic disturbances. Though the plant has reopened under local management, the export of tuna has resume now but under Soltuna and NFD.
Tourism
In 2017, Solomon Islands was one of the least frequently visited countries in the world, with only 26,000 tourists. Tourism income in 2016 and 2017 was about Int'l$ 1.6 million (international dollars). Tourism is a potentially significant service industry but growth is hampered by the lack of infrastructure, transportation limitations and security concerns. Scuba diving and World War II history are two major tourist attractions.[7][1]Archived 2020-06-10 at the Wayback Machine[2].
A team of renewable energy developers working for the Pacific Islands Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC) and funded by the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP), have hatched a scheme that enables these communities to access renewable energy, such as solar, without raising substantial sums of ready cash. If the islanders were not able to pay for solar lanterns with cash, reasoned the project developers, they can pay with crops [8]
Statistics
The following table shows the main economic indicators in 1980–2017.[9]
Year
GDP
(in bil. US$ PPP)
GDP per capita
(in US$ PPP)
GDP
(in bil. US$ nominal)
GDP growth (real)
Inflation (in Percent)
Government debt (Percentage of GDP)
1980
0.19
803
0.18
−2.7 %
8.3 %
...
1985
0.23
858
0.17
−3.1 %
9.4 %
...
1990
0.32
1,015
0.22
2.2 %
8.7 %
...
1995
0.53
1,469
0.47
10.1 %
9.6 %
...
2000
0.50
1,211
0.42
−14.3 %
6.9 %
...
2005
0.65
1,389
0.48
12.9 %
7.5 %
53 %
2006
0.70
1,454
0.54
4.0 %
11.2 %
48 %
2007
0.76
1,551
0.62
6.4 %
7.7 %
44 %
2008
0.83
1,656
0.70
7.1 %
17.3 %
35 %
2009
0.80
1,553
0.74
−4.7 %
7.1 %
34 %
2010
0.87
1,643
0.85
6.8 %
1.0 %
29 %
2011
1.00
1,858
1.05
13.2 %
7.4 %
21 %
2012
1.06
1,937
1.19
4.6 %
5.9 %
17 %
2013
1.11
1,982
1.29
3.0 %
5.4 %
15 %
2014
1.16
2,017
1.34
2.3 %
5.2 %
13 %
2015
1.20
2,046
1.31
2.5 %
−0.6 %
10 %
2016
1.26
2,097
1.38
3.5 %
0.5 %
8 %
2017
1.32
2,157
1.47
3.2 %
−0.4 %
10 %
Foreign Government Aid as a % of GDP:
40.125% (2006 est.)
GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $3,200 (2011 est.)
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