Provinces of Solomon Islands

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Updates: 

ISO 3166-2 Newsletter I-8, published on 2007-04-17, has ISO codes for the new provinces of Solomon Islands. They are shown in the table below. ISO still shows Capital Territory (SB-CT) separate from Guadalcanal.

FIPS Publication Change Notice No. 10, affecting FIPS PUB 10-4, was issued on 2006-03-23. It assigns new FIPS codes to the two new provinces, and changes the codes for the old provinces from which they were formed.

The provinces of the Solomon Islands have been reorganized. I've also revised the Change history section in light of new information. One source says that the status of some or all of the provinces may soon be changed to states.

Country overview: 

By the end of 1900, all of the Solomon Islands were a British protectorate (except Bougainville and neighboring islands, which are geographically part of the Solomons but have been politically associated with New Guinea). The formal name was British Solomon Islands Protectorate. Most of the Solomons were occupied by Japan in World War II. The country became independent on 1978-07-07.

Other names of country: 

1. Danish: Salomonøerne
2. Dutch: Salomoneilanden, Salomonseilanden
3. English: British Solomon Islands Protectorate (obsolete)
4. Finnish: Salomonsaaret
5. French: Îles fp Salomon, Salomon
6. German: Salomon-Inseln fp, Salomonen fp
7. Icelandic: Salómonseyjar
8. Italian: Isole Salomone, Salomone fp
9. Norwegian: Salomonøyene (Bokmål), Salomonøyane (Nynorsk)
10. Portuguese: Ilhas fp Salomão
11. Spanish: Islas fp Salomón
12. Swedish: Salomonöarna

Origin of name: 

discovered 1568 by Álvaro de Mendaña de Neira and named Islas de Solomon in the hope that they were the legendary islands of King Solomon (king of Israel 961-922 B.C.)

Primary subdivisions: 

Solomon Islands is divided into nine provinces.

Territorial extent: 

1. Central includes the Florida Islands (Nggela Sule and Nggela Pile are the largest), Savo Island, and the Russell Islands.
2. Choiseul includes Choiseul, Wagina (Vaghena), Rob Roy, and Taro Islands.
3. Guadalcanal includes Guadalcanal Island and adjacent islets.
4. Isabel includes Santa Isabel, San Jorge, Barora Fa, Barora Ite, the Ghizunabeana Islands, and others.
5. Makira includes San Cristobal, Ulawa, Uki Ni Masi, Santa Ana, Santa Catalina, and others.
6. Malaita includes Malaita, Maramasike, Manaoba, Ndai, and the islets and reefs of Stewart Islands (Sikaiana), Ontong Java (Lord Howe), Roncador, etc.
7. Rennell and Bellona includes Rennell Island (Mu Nggava) and Bellona Island (Mu Ngiki).
8. Temotu includes the Santa Cruz Islands (Vanikoro and Ndeni are largest), Reef Islands, Duff Islands, and the remote islands of Anuta, Fatutaka, and Tikopia.
9. Western includes the New Georgia Islands (New Georgia, Kolombangara, Vella Lavella, Rendova, Ranongga, Gizo, etc.), and the Shortland Islands (Alu, Treasury Islands, Fauro).

Origins of names: 

Guadalcanal: the island was named by its discoverer, Álvaro de Mendaña de Neira, after his home town in Spain.

Change history: 

Before World War II, the Solomon Islands were divided into twelve administrative districts, as shown here:

~1945: Capital of country moved from Tulagi to Honiara.

The postwar division of Solomon Islands was as follows. These districts were further subdivided into councils (in some cases one council was one district).

1981: Provincial Government Act of 1981 established seven provinces. Eastern district split into Makira and Temotu provinces; Central district split into Central, Guadalcanal, and Isabel provinces; Malaita and Western districts became provinces. The new provinces were the same as the council areas under the previous system.
~1983-07: Capital Territory split from Guadalcanal district. The ensuing division was as shown below:

1995-02-25: Choiseul province split from Western. Possibly on a different date, Rennell and Bellona split from Central; Capital Territory merged with Guadalcanal.

Other names of subdivisions: 

1. Capital Territory: Honiara (variant)
2. Choiseul: Lauru (variant)
3. Makira: Makira and Ulawa (variant)
4. Temotu: Eastern Islands (variant)