Provinces of Solomon Islands

The Solomon Islands is a country made up of many islands in the Pacific Ocean. It is divided into nine main areas called provinces. Each province has its own local government to help take care of the people living there.

The biggest city in the Solomon Islands is Honiara. It is located on the island of Guadalcanal and is very important because it is the country's capital. Honiara is special because it is governed separately as the Capital Territory, which means it has its own way of managing things instead of being part of any one province.

These provinces help organize the country and make sure everyone has access to services like schools and hospitals. Learning about the provinces can help us understand more about the Solomon Islands and the people who live there.

History

The Solomon Islands started with 12 areas under British rule. After World War II, these areas were grouped into four bigger districts. When Solomon Islands became independent in 1978, it had seven provinces. Over time, more provinces were added, and in 1995, the country had nine provinces and one special area for the capital city, Honiara.

Population

The population numbers come from censuses taken in 1999, 2009, and 2019 by the Solomon Islands National Statistics Office. Most provinces have grown in population over the past decade, especially the more urban areas, as more people move to cities.

For Guadalcanal Province, the numbers do not include the separately governed area of Honiara. If Honiara were included, Guadalcanal would have been the second largest province in 1999 with 109,382 people, the largest in 2009 with 158,222 people, and even larger still in 2019 with 283,591 people.

Provinces

The Solomon Islands is divided into nine provinces. Each province has its own local government to help manage the area.

Notes:

#	Province	Capital	Premier	Area (km2)	Population census 1999	Population census 2009	Population census 2019	Population per km2 (2019)
1	Central Province	Tulagi	Kenneth Sagupari	615	21,577	26,051	30,318	49.3
2	Choiseul Province	Taro Island	Harrison Pitakaka	3,837	20,008	26,372	30,775	8.0
3	Guadalcanal Province	Honiara	Willie Atu	5,336	60,275	106,023	154,022	28.9
4	Isabel Province	Buala	Lawrence Hayward	4,136	20,421	26,158	31,420	7.6
5	Makira-Ulawa Province	Kirakira	Stanley Siapu	3,188	31,006	40,419	51,587	16.2
6	Malaita Province	Auki	Elijah Asilaua	4,225	122,620	152,307	172,740	40.9
7	Rennell and Bellona Province	Tigoa	Derek Pongi	671	2,377	3,041	4,100	6.1
8	Temotu Province	Lata	Stanley Tehiahua	868	18,912	21,362	22,319	25.7
9	Western Province	Gizo	Billy Veo	7,509	62,739	76,649	94,106	12.5
–	Capital Territory	Honiara	Eddie Siapu	22	49,107	64,609	129,569	5916.4
–	Solomon Islands	Honiara	Jeremiah Manele	30,407	409,042	515,870	720,956	23.7