rliament
cabinet: Cabinet was appointed by the governor general on the advice
of the prime minister from among the members of Parliament

Legislative branch: unicameral
National Parliament: elections last held 26 May 1993 (next to be
held NA 1997); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (47
total) GNUR 21, PAP 7, NAPSI 5, SILP 4, UP 4, independents 6

Judicial branch: High Court

Political parties and leaders: National Unity and Reconciliation
Group (GNUR), Solomon MAMALONI; People's Alliance Party (PAP);
National Action Party (NAPSI), leader NA; Solomon Islands Labor
Party (SILP), leader NA; United Party (UP), leader NA; Nationalist
Front for Progress (NFP), Andrew NORI; Labor Party (LP), Joses
TUHANUKU; Christian Fellowship, leader NA

International organization participation: ACP, AsDB, C, ESCAP,
FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO,
Intelsat (nonsignatory user), IOC, ITU, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN,
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO

Diplomatic representation in US: Solomon Islands do not have an
embassy in the US; the ambassador to the US traditionally resides in
Honiara (Solomon Islands)

US diplomatic representation: the US does not have an embassy in
Solomon Islands (embassy closed July 1993); the ambassador to Papua
New Guinea is accredited to the Solomon Islands

Flag: divided diagonally by a thin yellow stripe from the lower
hoist-side corner; the upper triangle (hoist side) is blue with five
white five-pointed stars arranged in an X pattern; the lower
triangle is green

Economy
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Economic overview: The bulk of the population depend on
subsistence agriculture, fishing, and forestry for at least part of
their livelihood. Most manufactured goods and petroleum products
must be imported. The islands are rich in undeveloped mineral
resources such as lead, zinc, nickel, and gold. The government of
the Solomon Islands is nearing financial insolvency. In mid-1995 the
central bank suspended interest and principal payments on government
bonds and treasury bills held by financial institutions and the
general public. The government has taken no steps to restrain
expenditure or address the deficit, which is expected to be
considerably higher than the $20 million forecasted in the 1996
budget.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $1 billion (1992 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 8% (1992 est.)

GDP per ca