Location:
Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Papua New Guinea

Geographic coordinates:
8 00 S, 159 00 E

Map references:
Oceania

Area:
total: 28,896 sq km
[see also: Area - total country ranks ]
land: 27,986 sq km
[see also: Area - land country ranks ]
water: 910 sq km
[see also: Area - water country ranks ]
country comparison to the world: 144

Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than Maryland

Land boundaries:
0 km

Coastline:
5,313 km
[see also: Coastline country ranks ]

Maritime claims:
measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
territorial sea: 12 nm
[see also: Maritime claims - territorial sea country ranks ]
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
[see also: Maritime claims - exclusive economic zone country ranks ]
continental shelf: 200 nm
[see also: Maritime claims - continental shelf country ranks ]

Climate:
tropical monsoon; few temperature and weather extremes

Terrain:
mostly rugged mountains with some low coral atolls

Elevation:
mean elevation: NA
[see also: Elevation - mean elevation country ranks ]
elevation extremes: lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Popomanaseu 2,335 m

Natural resources:
fish, forests, gold, bauxite, phosphates, lead, zinc, nickel

Land use:
agricultural land: 3.9% arable land 0.7%; permanent crops 2.9%; permanent pasture 0.3%
[see also: Land use - agricultural land country ranks ]
forest: 78.9%
[see also: Land use - forest country ranks ]
other: 17.2% (2011 est.)
[see also: Land use - other country ranks ]

Irrigated land:
0 sq km NA (2012)
[see also: Irrigated land country ranks ]

Population - distribution:
most of the population lives along the coastal regions; about one in five live in urban areas, and of these some two-thirds reside in Honiara, the largest town and chief port

Natural hazards:
tropical cyclones, but rarely destructive; geologically active region with frequent earthquakes, tremors, and volcanic activity; tsunamis
volcanism: Tinakula (851 m) has frequent eruption activity, while an eruption of Savo (485 m) could affect the capital Honiara on nearby Guadalcanal

Environment - current issues:
deforestation; soil erosion; many of the surrounding coral reefs are dead or dying

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note:
strategic location on sea routes between the South Pacific Ocean, the Solomon Sea, and the Coral Sea; on 2 April 2007 an undersea earthquake measuring 8.1 on the Richter scale occurred 345 km WNW of the capital Honiara; the resulting tsunami devastated coastal areas of Western and Choiseul provinces with dozens of deaths and thousands dislocated; the provincial capital of Gizo was especially hard hit