8 Billion Lives
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Where you could be born / Oceania / Melanesia

Born in Solomon Islands

About 1 in 6,145 people born in 2023 started life in Solomon Islands. A boy can expect to live 69 years and a girl 72, up from 40 and 44 in 1950. Fewer than half of people live in cities, and 71% have basic drinking water.

1 in 6,145
odds of being born here
21,500 births · Ranked 152nd of 230
69 / 72
years of life, boys / girls
Was 40 / 44 in 1950
$1,385
income per person a year
2021 dollars · Ranked 192nd of 203 · extrapolated
30%
live in a city
Most live in villages

Life and health

Life lasts about 29 years longer than in 1950. Child deaths fell from 232 in every 1,000 births to 18.

How long a life lasts

GirlsBoys

020406080195019852023

Years a baby born that year could expect to live.

Children who die before age 5
0100200300195019852023

In every 1,000 births.

Life expectancy at birth69.2 years for boys, 72.0 for girlsUN WPP 2024
Children who die before age 517.8 in every 1,000 birthsUN WPP 2024
Deaths a year4,000UN WPP 2024
Doctors per 1,000 people0.2World Bank WDI
Children immunized against measles68%World Bank WDI
Adults living with HIV0.1%World Bank WDI
New tuberculosis cases a year97 per 100,000 peopleWorld Bank WDI
Malaria cases a year241 per 1,000 people at riskWorld Bank WDI

Family

Women had 7.2 children on average in 1950. Now it is 3.6.

Children per woman
02468195019852023

Average over a lifetime.

Children per woman3.56UN WPP 2024
Average age of mothers at birth29.2 yearsUN WPP 2024

Money and work

If every 100 coins of income were shared out, the richest fifth would hold 45 and the poorest fifth 7.

Who gets the income
Share of all income by fifth of the population, 2012
7%Poorest fifth
11%Second
16%Middle
22%Fourth
45%Richest fifth
Income per personabout $1,385 a year (2021 dollars, adjusted for prices)World Bank PIP, scaled between survey years Extrapolated
Share of income going to the richest fifth / poorest fifth45% / 7% (2012)World Bank PIP
Unemployment1.4% of the workforce (2023)World Bank WDI
Price rises5.9% a year (2023)World Bank WDI
Growth in output per person0.4% (2023)World Bank WDI
Jobs in farming43% of jobsWorld Bank WDI
Self-employed70% of jobs (2025)World Bank WDI
Secondary school enrolment49% (can pass 100 when older students are counted)World Bank WDI

Daily life

The largest city is Honiara, with 56,298 people.

30%
live in cities
81%
have electricity at home
71%
have basic drinking water
Largest cities
People living there
Honiara56,298
Panatina32,712
Tandai24,592
Malango15,560
Languages
Share of people who can use each
English100%
Pijin82%
Roviana1%
English is official.

Cities and regions

Every state, province and large city with a page.

Largest regions

Honiara89,010
Guadalcanal Province40,152

Sourced: GeoNames Population of each state, province or region.

People on the move

About 1.0% as many people born here live abroad as live here. The most common destinations are Australia, Fiji, Papua New Guinea.

Where people born here live abroad
By country of residence, 2024
Australia7,161
Fiji732
Papua New Guinea221
Residents born abroad0.3% (2024)World Bank WDI
People born here who live abroadequal to 1.0% of the people who live hereUN DESA migrant stock
Where they go mostAustralia (7,161), Fiji (732), Papua New Guinea (221)UN DESA migrant stock
Money sent home from abroadabout $95.2 million a year (2024)World Bank WDI

Safety nets

0% of older people receive a pension. Help for someone who loses a job reaches 0%.

0%
of older people receive a pension (2021)
0%
of unemployed people receive a benefit (2022)

Events in the data

The game draws real events from these records, so a life lived here can meet them.

Reported COVID-19 deaths, 2020 to 2024199Our World in Data, from WHO
Significant earthquakes recorded since 19505; the deadliest, in 2007, killed about 52 people (magnitude 8.1)NOAA NCEI
Hurricane-strength storms since 19801NOAA IBTrACS

Now live it.

Born in Solomon Islands, to a family drawn from these numbers. Every life replays exactly from its seed.

Be born in Solomon Islands

Elsewhere in Oceania

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How to read the sources. Every figure is sourced to a named dataset, shown beside it. A figure marked "Extrapolated" is estimated by a model because no survey covers the year. UN figures are for 2023, the latest year of UN estimates; other figures are the latest year their dataset has. Rank 1 is the highest figure among 230 countries and territories. All sources and licences