2005
Demographics, Gender and Poverty
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The total population for 2004 is estimated to be 460 110, compared with census figures of 409 042 in 1999 and 444 564 in 2002. About 84% live in rural areas. According to the 1999 national population census, 93% of the total population of Solomon Islands are Melanesians, 4% are Polynesians and 3% are of other ethnic origins. This ethnic distribution of the population is reported to be the same for the projected population for 2003.
Estimated figures for 2004 indicate: a life expectancy for males of 61.9 years and 63.1 for females; a crude birth rate of 34.0 per 1000 population; and a crude death rate of 8.0 per 1000 population. In 1999, the total fertility rate was 4.84 and the infant mortality rate was 66 per 1000 live births.
Solomon Islands has a young population, with 40% below 15 years of age. The majority of the population are males, who outnumber the female population by a ratio of 107 males to 100 females.
