Against a background of improving political stability, primary product exports led economic growth of almost 5% in 2004. Inflation fell to single digits, public finances improved further, and stress on the financial sector declined. However, the short-term outlook is for a slowdown in growth, followed by acceleration in 2007.
| Key Macroeconomic Indicators ( ADO ) ADO 2005: SOLOMON ISLANDS Date of last update: 11 March 2005 |
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| Item | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 |
| National Income Accounts | |||||||||||
| 1. GDP growth (% pa, constant factor cost) | (1.4) | (1.1) | (1.7) | (10.6) | (4.4) | (0.5) | 5.3 | 4.6 | 2.9 | 2.6 | 5.6 |
| 2. GDP per capita growth (% pa, constant prices) | (4.1) | (3.8) | (4.5) | (13.2) | (7.2) | (3.4) | 2.3 | 1.5 | (0.1) | (0.4) | 2.5 |
| 3. GDP sector growth (% pa, constant factor cost) | - | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 |
| Agriculture | - | (1.5) | (0.2) | (14.0) | (1.5) | 4.6 | 13.0 | 5.8 | 1.9 | 2.7 | 8.2 |
| Share to GDP (% of total) | - | 44.3 | 45.0 | 43.3 | 44.6 | 46.9 | 50.3 | 50.9 | 50.4 | 50.5 | 51.7 |
| Industry | - | (11.9) | (8.3) | (17.0) | (15.3) | 2.4 | 5.5 | 9.0 | 3.4 | 2.9 | 9.5 |
| Share to GDP (% of total) | - | 8.4 | 7.8 | 7.3 | 6.4 | 6.6 | 6.6 | 6.9 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.2 |
| Services | - | 1.5 | (1.9) | (6.2) | (5.4) | (5.5) | (2.4) | 2.4 | 4.1 | 2.4 | 1.9 |
| Share to GDP (% of total) | - | 47.2 | 47.1 | 49.4 | 48.9 | 46.5 | 43.0 | 42.2 | 42.6 | 42.6 | 41.1 |
| 4. Gross domestic investment (as % of GDP) | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Employment | |||||||||||
| 1. Unemployment Rate (as % of LF) | - | - | 12.5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Money and Prices | |||||||||||
| 1. Inflation rate (% pa, average of period) | 8.0 | 12.4 | 8.0 | 7.3 | 6.8 | 7.3 | 12.5 | 6.5 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| 2. Liquidity (M2) growth (% change, end of period) | 6.3 | 4.8 | 4.5 | 0.4 | (13.3) | 3.9 | 25.4 | 21.2 | 17.8 | 7.6 | 10.6 |
| Balance of Payments | |||||||||||
| 1. Trade Balance ($ million) | 9 | 14 | 39 | (23) | (34) | 10 | (11) | (17) | (37) | (29) | (13) |
| Merchandise Exports | 156 | 142 | 147 | 69 | 47 | 58 | 74 | 85 | 83 | 88 | 105 |
| Growth (% pa) | (4.0) | (9.1) | 3.8 | (53.1) | (32.0) | 22.6 | 29.0 | 15.0 | (2.7) | 6.0 | 19.3 |
| Merchandise Imports | 147 | 128 | 108 | 92 | 81 | 47 | 85 | 102 | 120 | 117 | 118 |
| Growth (% pa) | 24.0 | (13.1) | (15.5) | (14.8) | (11.5) | (41.8) | 79.8 | 19.7 | 17.6 | (2.5) | 0.9 |
| 2. Current Account Balance ($ million) including official transfers | (15) | 11 | 24 | (44) | (33) | (3) | 3 | 3 | (23) | (13) | (7) |
| 3. Current Account Balance (% of GDP) | (3.7) | 3.4 | 7.5 | (14.7) | (11.9) | (1.5) | 1.4 | 1.1 | (7.9) | (4.1) | (1.9) |
| 4. Foreign Direct Investment, Net ($ million) | 9 | 2 | (18) | 1 | (12) | (1) | 0 | - | - | - | - |
| External Debt | |||||||||||
| 1. External Debt ($m) | 117 | 122 | 131 | 126 | 134 | 152 | 164 | 160 | 157 | 155 | 152 |
| 2. External Debt Service (% of X of goods & services) | 2.1 | 3.1 | 2.3 | 3.8 | 5.9 | 10.6 | 8.9 | 6.3 | 7.1 | 6.2 | 5.8 |
| 3. Exchange Rate (annual average; LC per $) | 3.7 | 4.8 | 4.9 | 5.1 | 5.3 | 6.8 | 7.5 | 7.3 | 7.4 | 7.3 | 7.3 |
| 4. Gross Official Reserves, ($ million) | 32 | 48 | 50 | 31 | 19 | 18 | 36 | 73 | 71 | 72 | 75 |
| Government Finance | |||||||||||
| 1. Central government expenditure and net lending(% of GDP) | 33.2 | 27.2 | 30.3 | 29.6 | 35.8 | 28.3 | 37.9 | 43.5 | 58.9 | - | - |
| 2. Central government revenue including grants(% of GDP) | 28.9 | 29.0 | 27.0 | 22.1 | 23.5 | 17.9 | 38.0 | 46.0 | 55.1 | - | - |
| 3. Overall budget balance (% of GDP) | (4.3) | 1.8 | (3.3) | (7.5) | (12.3) | (10.3) | 0.1 | 2.5 | (3.8) | - | - |
| Note: figures in ( ) are negative values | |||||||||||
| Source: ADO 2005, Asian Development Bank | |||||||||||