The most interesting facts about the Solomon Islands, from an island named after US President Kennedy to a giant rat that fell from a tree.
Fast facts
Official name: Solomon Islands
Capital city: Honiara
Population: 726,799
Area: 28,896 sq km
Major languages: Melanesian pidgin, English
Time zone: UTC+11
Interesting facts about the Solomon Islands
1. The Solomon Islands are an island nation located in Oceania. They consist of approximately 992 small islands, atolls and reefs.
2. Only 347 of the islands are populated. The six major islands are Choiseul, Guadalcanal, Malaita, Makira, New Georgia and Santa Isabel.
3. The Solomon Islands are the third-largest archipelago in the South Pacific.
4. The first settlers of the Solomon Islands were Papuan-speaking hunter-gatherers from New Guinea. They inhabited the islands for possibly as long as 50,000 years before Austronesian-speaking early Melanesians began arriving around 4000BC.
5. The first European to explore the islands was the Spanish explorer Alvaro de Mendana in 1568.
6. Believing that gold was present, Mendana named the islands Isles of Solomon, after the legendary King Solomon’s mines.
7. The Solomon Islands were colonised by the UK in the 19th century. The British Solomon Islands Protectorate was declared in 1893.
8. The protectorate was informally known as “The Happy Isles”.
9. In 1942, during the Second World War, the Solomon Islands were occupied by Japan. There was extensive fighting, especially during the decisive Battle of Guadalcanal. The Japanese were eventually forced from the islands by the Allies in 1945 and British rule was restored.
10. Today, the islands are popular with scuba divers due to the numerous Second World War submarine, ship and aircraft wrecks.
11. US President John F Kennedy kept a coconut shell in his Oval Office as a reminder of when he was marooned in the Solomon Islands in 1943. After his boat sank, he was rescued by two Solomon Islanders called Eroni Kumana and Biuku Gasa.
12. The president, along with 10 other survivors, swam to the uninhabited Plum Pudding Island. It has now been renamed Kennedy Island.
13. The national flag consists of triangles of blue, which represents the importance of water, and green, which represents trees and crops, separated by a yellow diagonal stripe which represents the sun. In the upper corner are five white stars which stand for the original five provinces that initially made up the country.
See how the Solomon Islands’ flag compares to other Oceania flags.
14. In 2000, Prime Minister Bartholomew Ulufa’alu was taken hostage by the Malaitan Eagle Force. He was subsequently forced to resign.
15. In 2003, an Australian-led peacekeeping force was deployed in the Solomon Islands. It stayed for 14 years until 2017.
16. In the late 19th century, the Solomon Islands were among several Pacific islands to suffer from ‘blackbirding’. Blackbirding was the kidnapping of people for use as forced labour on plantations in Fiji and Australia. The grotesque practice ended around 1872 and led to several countries banning overseas-labour recruitment.
17. It’s believed that approximately 30,000 labourers from the Solomon Islands were recruited between 1870 and 1910 to work on plantations in Fiji and Queensland, Australia.
18. The Solomon Islands’ coat of arms is a shield framed by a crocodile and a shark. The motto “To Lead Is To Serve” is displayed beneath it. On the shield are an eagle, a turtle, a war shield and some fighting spears.
19. The Solomon Islands is the second-hungriest country in Oceania, after Papua New Guinea, with hunger levels classified as serious.
20. Despite being an official language, only around 1-2% of the population speak English. There are approximately 120 indigenous languages also spoken in the Solomon Islands.
21. In 2019, the UK’s Prince Charles visited the Solomon Islands and “delighted” a crowd of Solomon Islanders by addressing them in pidgin. He said “Mi hapi visiting to place blong yu fela,” to applause from the crowd.
22. The Solomon Islands are one of just 21 countries not to have an army.
23. In 2017, a species of giant rat capable of opening coconuts with its teeth was discovered in the Solomon Islands. For decades, no one could prove the creature existed, then in 2015, one fell from a tree as it was cut down. The rats can grow up to 45cm long and weigh 0.5kg.
24. The Solomon Islands have 173 bird species, 69 of which are endemic and cannot be found anywhere else in the world.
25. Dense rain forest covers around 90% of the islands.
26. But it’s not enough to offset the harmful effects of pollution. Around 23.7% of all deaths are linked to air pollution, and Honiara, the capital city, often records PM levels two to three times higher than the WHO’s recommended 24-hour limit.
27. Rennell Island in the Solomon Islands is the largest raised coral atoll in the world at 86km long and 15km wide. East Rennell is part of Rennell Island and is the country’s only UNESCO World Heritage site.
28. The Solomon Islands have over 4,500 plant species including 230 varieties of orchids.
29. Like many islands in the Pacific, smoking daily is widespread in the Solomon Islands. More than half of men smoke, compared with around 20% of women.
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Caitriona Maria is an education writer and owner of The Facts Institute. With seven years of teaching experience and a background in educational content, she specialises in creating clear reference resources about countries, geography and global topics.