Solomon Islands are an island nation in the Pacific Ocean east of Papua New Guinea.
The country belongs to the British Commonwealth (which includes 54 independent states) and is headed by the Queen of the United Kingdom, Elizabeth II.
On July 7, 1978, the country declared independence from Britain.
The islands are named after the biblical king Solomon. The Spanish explorer Álvaro de Mendaña de Neira discovered them in 1568. He thought he had reached islands of great wealth and therefore named them after the name of the rich King Solomon.
The Solomon Islands consist of a chain of about 990 islands in the Pacific Ocean. The total land area of the islands is 28,400 km2. Some of the islands are very isolated. The distance between the westernmost island and the easternmost island is about 1,500 km. Some islands have volcanoes of varying degrees of activity. Many of the small islands are sand-covered coral islands and palm trees.
The population of the Solomon Islands, as of July 2018, was 660,121. The capital of the Solomon Islands is Honiara, with a population of about 65,000. Honiara is home to the University of the South Pacific.
5% to 10% of locals have natural blond hair despite their dark skin color. Researchers at Stanford University have found that the blond hair of Solomon Islands residents is the result of a mutation in a single gene, unlike many Europeans, whose genetic basis is responsible for the blond hair color.
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The natives of the Solomon Islands were previously notorious among other islanders because of their head-hunting customs and cannibalism.
The traditional culture of the Solomon Islands is passed down from father to son. Most of the residents live in the villages and maintain a traditional way of life. Although most of them are Christians, the origin of their ancient customs is in belief in ancient spirits.
English is the official language of the Solomon Islands, but only 2% of the people speak it. Instead, it has a variety of different languages from the Maltese, Micronesian and Polynesian language groups. The lingua franca ("the bridge language ", the language in which people who speak different languages are able to speak to each other) is English creole, Solomons Pijin.
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The tourists who come to the island are mostly people who live in the Oceania region, like Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand. In the Solomon Islands you can find wonderful beaches and lively dive sites. Opposite the Solomon Islands there are also dive sites where ships and equipment that sank during World War II are located.
Honiara, the capital of the Solomon Islands located on Guadalcanal Island, has a museum and botanical gardens. On the islands you can join guided walking tours in the rainforests, where you can see many reptiles and butterflies, bats, birds and amphibians. On the island of Malita you can walk on the battlefields of World War II.
Solomon Islands Airport is 13 km from Honiara and regular flights arrive from New Zealand and Australia.
In case you decide to travel to Solomon Islands, you will need to get preventative medication against the malaria disease prevalent in extensive areas of the islands.
July 7th is also Day of telling the truth