Solomon Islands

Key trends and development challenges

Solomon Islands is an archipelagic state situated in the Pacific sub-region of Melanesia. With a GDP of $1.6 billion, Solomon Islands is the third-largest economy in the Pacific and accounts for almost 4% of regional GDP. The country has a population of 809,539, resulting in a GDP per capita of $1,957 — ranking last in the Pacific. Its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) spans 1.5 million square kilometres, the 22nd-largest globally, comparable in size to the EEZ of the Philippines. At 0.584, Solomon Islands’ Human Development Index score ranks 156th out of 193 countries.

Solomon Islands has the seventh-highest official development assistance (ODA) to GDP ratio in the Pacific, with aid accounting for 20% of GDP. In a global context, Solomon Islands remains among the most aid-reliant countries in the world, with its aid as a share of GDP ranking 13th among 125 developing countries. The Solomon Islands government’s development agenda focuses on infrastructure investment and economic diversification. GDP growth was revised down to 2.6% in 2025, dragged by a 7.1% fall in logging — historically the dominant export earner, now in structural decline amid resource depletion and shifting demand.

Between 2008 and 2024, annual official development finance (ODF) disbursements to Solomon Islands — including grants, loans, and other forms of assistance — averaged $347 million. Around 6% of the development finance received by Solomon Islands during this period came in the form of loans. Loan assistance peaked at 22% of total ODF in 2019 but declined in successive years to less than 10% in 2021. In 2022, Solomon Islands’ government signed a $66 million loan with China to build 161 mobile communication towers. The International Monetary Fund ranks Solomon Islands’ risk of debt distress as moderate.

Development partners and sector trends

Between 2008 and 2024, the vast majority of ODF support to Solomon Islands came from five development partners, led by Australia (58%), New Zealand (9%), Japan (6%), the World Bank (6%), and the Asian Development Bank (5%). Since switching recognition from Taiwan to China in 2019, Chinese financing has played a growing role in the ODF mix of Solomon Islands. Since 2021, China has been the country’s second-largest aid partner, providing finance for stadiums and facilities for the 2023 Pacific Games in Honiara, upgrading university facilities, and enhancing policing support.

ODF disbursements in Solomon Islands were largely consistent with regional trends in terms of sector distribution. The government and civil society sector featured prominently, accounting for 45% of incoming financing. This is driven in part by flows of ODF to discretionary government and parliamentarian funds, such as the country’s Constituency Development Funds. Human development spending has remained higher than infrastructure spending in Solomon Islands since 2008, with the exception of a spike in 2019 as a result of spending on the Tina River Hydropower Development Project. Solomon Islands was one of a small number of Pacific states that did not see a significant spike in human development spending during the pandemic.

Since 2008, Solomon Islands has received $244 million in development financing with a “principal” focus on either climate adaptation or mitigation. Over this same period, the country has seen $786 million in development financing with a “significant” focus on climate outcomes. Since 2015, Solomon Islands has seen a substantial rise in spending on climate-targeting projects. As a share of total ODF received by Solomon Islands, “principal” climate projects made up just 4% of total spending, well below the regional average of 8%. Spending on “significant” climate projects in Solomon Islands made up 13% of incoming funds, also below the regional average of 17%.

Between 2008 and 2024, Solomon Islands received $146 million in development financing with a “principal” focus on gender equality, and $2 billion in development financing with a “significant” focus on gender equality. “Principal” gender equality financing constituted 2% of ODF received by the country, in line with the regional average. Conversely, “significant” marked gender financing made up 34% of incoming ODF, well above the regional average of 23%. The largest project directly targeting gender equality in the country was the multi-year $23 million Addressing Gender Equality project, funded by Australia and the United Nations Development Programme.