People

Population: 509 190 (July 2003 est.)

Age structure:

0-14 years: 42.9% (male 111 333; female 107 062)

15-64 years: 54% (male 139 072; female 135 729)

65 years and over: 3.1% (male 7 754; female 8 248) (July 2003 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.83% (2003 est.)

Birth rate: 32.45 births/1 000 population (2003 est.)

Death rate: 4.12 deaths/1 000 population (2003 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1 000 population (2003 est.)

Sex ratio:

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.94 male(s)/female (2003 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 22.88 deaths/1 000 live births (2003 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:

total population: 72.1 years

male: 69.64 years

female: 74.68 years (2003 est.)

Total fertility rate: 4.34 children born/woman (2003 est.)

Nationality:

noun: Solomon Islander(s)

adjective: Solomon Islander

Ethnic groups: Melanesian 93% Polynesian 4% Micronesian 1.5% European 0.8% Chinese 0.3% other 0.4%

Religions: Anglican 45% Roman Catholic 18% Baptist 9% United (Methodist/Presbyterian) 12% Seventh-Day Adventist 7% other Protestant 5% traditional beliefs 4%

Languages: Melanesian pidgin in much of the country is lingua franca English spoken by 1%-2% of population

note: 120 indigenous languages

Literacy: NA