Melanesia · SLB
Solomon Islands
The story · 8 chapters
How it was drawn
A double chain of islands split between Britain and Germany became a British protectorate, a great battlefield in 1942, and an independent state in 1978.
Play the story Take the first lessonThrough the ages
Rivals in history
The kingdoms, empires and states Solomon Islands fought or stood against, from the first to today.
- Queensland labour traders1870 to 1908
From the 1870s ships recruit Solomon Islanders for the sugar fields of Queensland, often through deceit or force. Islanders attack some of the ships in revenge. The trade ends when Australia deports most Pacific labourers after 1901.
- German Empire1886 to 1899
Germany claims the northern Solomons in 1886. In the agreement of 1899 it hands most of them to Britain, keeping Bougainville and Buka, which is why those islands now belong to Papua New Guinea.
- British Empire1893 to 1978
Britain rules from 1893 with a handful of officials and a head tax that sparks the killing of District Officer Bell on Malaita in 1927. After the war it jails the leaders of Maasina Rule, before granting independence in 1978.
- Empire of Japan1942 to 1945
Japan occupies Tulagi and Guadalcanal in 1942. American forces land in August, and six months of fighting on land, at sea and in the air drive the Japanese off Guadalcanal by February 1943.
Today
Solomon Islands now
Settlers from Papua arrived on the Solomon Islands around 30,000 years ago. About 6,000 years ago, Austronesian settlers came to the islands, and the two groups mixed extensively. Despite significant inter-island trade, no attempts were made to unite the islands into a single political entity. In 1568, a Spanish explorer became the first European to spot the islands.
- Capital
- Honiara
- Government
- parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy; a Commonwealth realm
- Head of government
- Jeremiah Manele
- Head of state
- Charles III
- Languages
- English
- Area
- 28,446 km²
Through time
Then and now
- Population800,0002023 · 108,700 in 1950
- Life expectancy70.5 years2023 · 41.4 years in 1950
- Living in cities31%2025 · 1% in 1950
- Literacy77%1999 · 8% in 1950
- Political regimeElectoral democracy2025 · Closed autocracy in 1950
- Military alliancesNone of these2024 · None of these in 1950
- War deathsNone2025
Population: HYDE 3.3, Gapminder and UN WPP. GDP per capita: Maddison Project Database 2023. Urban share: UN WPP. Life expectancy: Riley, HMD, UN WPP. Literacy: OWID historical estimates, World Bank, UNESCO. Military spending: SIPRI. War deaths: UCDP. Political regime: V-Dem, Regimes of the World. All via Our World in Data (CC BY 4.0). Alliances and organization memberships: compiled by Atlas. Satellites in orbit: CelesTrak SATCAT. Modern borders, backcast.
Relations
Close partners and tensions
Close partners
- Australia
- New Zealand
Summarised from World Bank and Wikipedia data, updated 24 October 2026.