Islam by country · Oceania
Islam in Solomon Island: history and Muslim population data
Explore CoMPS research on the historical journey of Islam in Solomon Island, alongside population data and an interactive timeline.
Open Solomon Island in the interactive map
History of Islam in Solomon Island
It was conquered by the British in 1893 and gained its independence from the UK in 1978. It has an area of 28,230 sq km, comprising over 900 islands that covers over two million sq km of the South Pacific Ocean, about a hundred of which are inhabited. The largest islands are Guadalcanal (5,302 sq km) where the capital Honiara is and third of the population, Malaita (4,307 sq km) with fourth of the population, Makira (3,190 sq km) with tenth of the population, Santa Isabel (2,999 sq km) and Choiseul (2,971 sq km) with tenth of the population split between them, New Georgia (2,145 sq km), Maramasike (700 sq km), Kolombangara (685 sq km), Vella Lavella (670 sq km), Rennell (630 sq km), Santa Cruz (519 sq km), Vangunu (520 sq km), Shortland (420 sq km), Rendova (400 sq km), Vanikoro (190 sq km), San Jorge (184 sq km), Vonavona (180 sq km), Ranongga (145 sq km), Tetepare (120 sq km), Pavuvu (120 sq km), Nggatokae (110 sq km), Wagina (86 sq km), Ulawa (66 sq km), Ugi (42 sq km), and Savo (31 sq km).
The Muslim population was estimated to be 70 or 0.02% in 1999. The 2009 census was the first to include information about Muslims, according to which it was 316 or 0.06% of the total population. They are scattered in small numbers in the islands of Guadalcanal, Malaita, and Pavuvu. Thus, assuming that the percentage of Muslims will increase by 0.05 of a percentage point per decade; then the Muslim population is expected to increase to 3,000 or 0.3% by 2050 and 10,000 or 0.5% by 2100.
Historical Muslim population dataset for Solomon Island
The figures below are from the CoMPS historical dataset. Population values are expressed in thousands; 2100 is a modelled projection, not a present-day count.
| Year | Total population (thousands) | Muslim population (thousands) | Muslim share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | 140.0 | 0.000 | 0.00% |
| 2000 | 424.7 | 0.042 | 0.01% |
| 2100 | 1,999 | 9.99 | 0.50% |
For the full time series and visualisation, use the interactive map above.