Factbook
Histoire de Îles Salomon — Chronologie
Dates clés de l'histoire de Îles Salomon, d'après le Factbook Magna et l'Encyclopédie universelle.
1568In 1568, a Spanish explorer became the first European to spot the islands.
1767After a failed Spanish attempt at creating a permanent European settlement in the late 1500s, the Solomon Islands remained free of European contact until a British explorer arrived in 1767.
1885Germany declared a protectorate over the northern Solomon Islands in 1885, and the UK established a protectorate over the southern islands in 1893.
1899In 1899, Germany transferred its islands to the UK in exchange for the UK relinquishing all claims in Samoa.
1942In 1942, Japan invaded the islands, and the Guadalcanal Campaign (August 1942-February 1943) proved a turning point in the Pacific theater of WWII.
1960By 1960, the British allowed some local autonomy.
1976The islands were granted self-government in 1976 and independence two years later under Prime Minister Sir Peter KENILOREA.
1999In 1999, longstanding tensions between ethnic Guale in Honiara and ethnic Malaitans in Honiara’s suburbs erupted in civil war, leading thousands of Malaitans to take refuge in Honiara and prompting Guale to flee the city.
2000In 2000, newly elected Prime Minister Manasseh SOGAVARE focused on peace agreements and distributing resources equally among groups, but his actions bankrupted the government in 2001 and led to his ouster.
2003In 2003, the Solomon Islands requested international assistance to reestablish law and order; the Australian-led Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands, which ended in 2017, improved the security situation.
2006In 2006, however, riots broke out in Honiara, and the city’s Chinatown was burned amid allegations that the prime minister took money from China.
2009Languages: Melanesian pidgin (lingua franca in much of the country), English (official but spoken by only 1%-2% of the population), 120 indigenous languages Religions: Protestant 73.4% (Church of Melanesia 31.9%, South Sea Evangelical 17.1%, Seventh Day Adventist 11.7%, United Church 10.1%, Christian Fellowship Church 2.5%), Roman Catholic 19.6%, other Christian 2.9%, other 4%, unspecified 0.1% (2009 est.) Urban population: 26% of total population (2023).
2018Major urban areas: 82,000 HONIARA (capital) (2018) lower middle-income Pacific island economy; natural resource rich but environmentally fragile; key agrarian sector; growing Chinese economic relationship; infrastructure damage due to social unrest; metal mining operations Inflation: 5.9% (2023 est.).
2019SOGAVARE was reelected prime minister for a fourth time in 2019.
2021When a small group of protestors, mostly from the island of Malaita, approached parliament to lodge a petition calling for SOGAVARE’s removal and more development in Malaita in 2021, police fired tear gas into the crowd which sparked rioting and looting in Honiara.
2023Generation mix — fossil fuels: 90.1% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); solar: 5.4% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); hydroelectricity: 0.9% of total installed capacity (2023 est.) Energy use: 5.655 million Btu/person (2023 est.).
2023Industries: fish (tuna), mining, timber Agriculture: oil palm fruit, coconuts, sweet potatoes, yams, taro, fruits, pulses, vegetables, cocoa beans, cassava (2023) Electricity access: 76% (2022 est.).
