索罗门群岛(Solomon Islands)

南太平洋岛国。包括瓜达尔卡纳尔岛、马莱塔岛、圣克里斯托瓦尔岛、舒瓦瑟尔岛、圣伊莎贝尔岛、佛罗里达岛、伦内尔岛、罗素岛、肖特兰群岛、圣克鲁斯岛和新乔治亚群岛以及小岛和环礁。面积28,370平方公里。人口480,000（2001）。首都︰荷尼阿拉。人口以美拉尼西亚人为主。语言︰英语（官方语）、皮钦语（一种混杂英语），另有六十多种美拉尼西亚土语。宗教︰基督教徒（多为新教）。货币︰索罗门群岛元（SI$）。该群岛包括七个大火山岛群，形成两串平行的岛链，并集中於东南部。大部分岛屿林木茂密，地势崎岖不平，河流不长，但水流湍急。气候炎热。经济以农业、渔业和木材业为基础。旅游业已发展起来，以乘客轮游览和参观第二次世界大战战场为主。政府形式为君主立宪政体，一院制。国家元首为英国君主，由总督作为代表。政府首脑为总理。

索罗门群岛至少在西元前2000年就开始有人居住，大概是讲澳斯特罗尼西亚语的民族。1568年西班牙人来到此地。荷兰人、法国人和英国人也随後探险至此。1893～1900年为英国保护地，後成为英属索罗门群岛。1942年，日本人入侵索罗门群岛，其後三年在索罗门群岛上的战事是太平洋战区中最为激烈的，以瓜达尔卡纳尔为甚。1975年保护地被允许内部自治。1978年获得完全独立。其他群岛称作索罗门岛，包括布干维尔岛，为巴布亚纽几内亚的一部分。

English version：

Solomon Islands

Island nation, South Pacific Ocean. It includes the islands of Guadalcanal, Malaita, San Cristobal, Choiseul, Santa Isabel, Florida, and Rennell; the Russell, Shortland, Santa Cruz, and New Georgia island groups; and small islands and reefs. Area: 10,954 sq mi (28,370 sq km). Population (1997 est.): 411,000. Capital: Honiara. The population is largely Melanesian. Languages: English (official); Pijin (an English-based pidgin), and more than 60 indigenous Melanesian languages. Religion: Christianity (mostly Protestantism). Currency: Solomon Islands dollar. The Solomons group consists of seven large volcanic islands arranged in two parallel chains that converge in the southeast. They consist mostly of heavily wooded, mountainous terrain drained by short, swift-flowing rivers. The climate is tropical. The economy is based on agriculture, fishing, and lumbering. Tourism is increasing as cruise ships and visitors to World War II battlefields stop at the islands. The nation is a constitutional monarchy with one legislative house; its chief of state is the British monarch represented by the governor-general, and the head of government is the prime minister. The Solomon Islands were probably settled c. 2000 BC by Austronesian people. Visited by the Spanish in 1568, they were subsequently explored and charted by the Dutch, French, and British. They were under British protection 1893-1900 and became the British Solomon Islands. The Japanese invasion of 1942 ignited three years of the most bitter fighting in the Pacific, particularly on Guadalcanal. The protectorate became self-governing in 1975 and fully independent in 1978. (Another island group named Solomon Islands, which includes Bougainville, is part of Papua New Guinea.).