EnglishEnglish
中文Chinese (Simplified)
EspañolSpanish
हिन्दीHindi
العربيةArabic
FrançaisFrench
PortuguêsPortuguese
РусскийRussian
DeutschGerman
日本語Japanese
United States
Poland
Maldives
Iraq ↑ 54
Austria vs Czechia
Samoa vs Solomon Islands
Side-by-side comparison of Samoa and Solomon Islands from official statistics: size, economy, people, trade, natural resources, health, infrastructure and military, with world ranks, years and sources.
Solomon Islands
East Asia & Pacific · nation age 48 years
In short
Samoa scores 50.2 in the NationsTree Index (87th in the world) and Solomon Islands scores 32.6 (155th), a gap of 17.6 points. Their trees are 0.9 m and 0.8 m tall; tree height grows with real GDP and is adjusted by the index.
Solomon Islands has 3.8 times the population of Samoa. Solomon Islands is 10 times larger than Samoa by land area. The economy of Solomon Islands is 14% larger than that of Samoa (GDP at purchasing power parity). Population: Samoa 219,306 and Solomon Islands 838,645 (2025).
GDP per person at purchasing power parity is $9,319 in Samoa and $2,788 in Solomon Islands (2025, international dollars). People in Samoa live on average 1.1 years longer (71.8 vs 70.7 years).
Of 24 indicators reported by both countries, Samoa ranks higher in the world on 20 and Solomon Islands on 4. Samoa is clearly stronger in institutions & safety, tourism and infrastructure & digital. Solomon Islands is clearly stronger in natural resources, main industries and trade.
As a nation, Samoa is the older of the two (statehood since 1962, 64 years), compared with Solomon Islands (since 1978). Over the last five years Samoa improved faster (direction score 96 vs 30 out of 100).
Where they differ most
The indicators with the biggest gap in world position between Samoa and Solomon Islands.
Samoabetter
100.0%
1st of 215
Solomon Islands
81.5%
169th of 215
Government budget balanceEconomy
Samoabetter
4.7%
8th of 192
Solomon Islands
-3.9%
129th of 192
UnemploymentEconomy
Samoa
5.0%
86th of 187
Solomon Islandsbetter
1.4%
9th of 187
Government effectivenessInstitutions & safety
Samoabetter
56.5
88th of 205
Solomon Islands
35.0
170th of 205
Regulatory qualityInstitutions & safety
Samoabetter
54.2
100th of 205
Solomon Islands
39.1
176th of 205
Over time
How the two countries moved against each other, from the yearly data.
Samoa overtook Solomon Islands in the NationsTree Index in 2023 and has stayed ahead since.
Solomon Islands overtook Samoa in GDP (PPP) in 2006 and has stayed ahead since.
Samoa has been ahead of Solomon Islands in GDP per person (PPP) and life expectancy in every year since 1990.
Solomon Islands has been ahead of Samoa in population in every year since 1990.
Strength by category
Average world percentile of the indicators in each category (0–100, direction taken into account). i
SamoaSolomon Islands All indicators
Latest available value for each country with its year and world rank. Green: the better world position of the two, red: the weaker one.
| Indicator | Samoa | Solomon Islands |
|---|---|---|
| Land & people | ||
| Surface area km² | 2,840173rd/216 · 2024 | 28,446141st/216 · 2024 |
| Land area km² | 2,780171st/216 · 2024 | 27,990141st/216 · 2024 |
| Population people | 219,306182nd/217 · 2025 | 838,645163rd/217 · 2025 |
| Population growth % | 0.59%130th/217 · 2025 | 2.35%32nd/217 · 2025 |
| Population density people/km² | 78.4125th/216 · 2024 | 29.3174th/216 · 2024 |
| Urban population % | 17.5%215th/217 · 2025 | 31.3%194th/217 · 2025 |
| Population aged 0–14 % | 38.1%32nd/217 · 2025 | 36.6%45th/217 · 2025 |
| Population aged 65+ % | 6.1%137th/217 · 2025 | 3.7%174th/217 · 2025 |
| Economy | ||
| GDP USD | $1.29 bn196th/210 · 2025 | $1.75 bn192nd/210 · 2025 |
| GDP (PPP) intl. USD | $2.04 bn187th/199 · 2025 | $2.34 bn185th/199 · 2025 |
| Real GDP (PPP, constant 2021 prices) intl. USD 2021 | $1.75 bn187th/199 · 2025 | $2.00 bn185th/199 · 2025 |
| GDP per person USD | $5,873131st/210 · 2025 | $2,086174th/210 · 2025 |
| GDP per person (PPP) intl. USD | $9,319142nd/199 · 2025 | $2,788188th/199 · 2025 |
| GNI per person (Atlas) USD | $5,640123rd/201 · 2025 | $2,020165th/201 · 2025 |
| GDP growth % | 4.2%75th/210 · 2025 | 3.6%93rd/210 · 2025 |
| Inflation % | 2.2%66th/180 · 2025 | 3.4%99th/180 · 2025 |
| Unemployment % | 5.0%86th/187 · 2025 | 1.4%9th/187 · 2025 |
| Central government debt % of GDP | — | 26.0%9th/55 · 2024 |
| General government gross debt % of GDP | 21.2%20th/189 · 2025 | 29.6%32nd/189 · 2025 |
| Government budget balance % of GDP | 4.7%8th/192 · 2025 | -3.9%129th/192 · 2025 |
| Main industries | ||
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing % of GDP | 9.1%74th/197 · 2025 | 29.7%13th/197 · 2024 |
| Industry incl. construction % of GDP | 10.2%183rd/200 · 2025 | 23.4%102nd/200 · 2024 |
| Manufacturing % of GDP | 4.9%154th/192 · 2025 | 10.1%97th/192 · 2024 |
| Services % of GDP | 72.1%26th/200 · 2025 | 46.9%161st/200 · 2024 |
| Trade | ||
| Exports of goods & services USD | $355.7 m169th/182 · 2025 | $642.6 m164th/182 · 2024 |
| Imports of goods & services USD | $553.9 m175th/182 · 2025 | $1.12 bn167th/182 · 2024 |
| Exports % of GDP | 27.6%117th/183 · 2025 | 40.6%79th/183 · 2024 |
| Imports % of GDP | 43.0%94th/183 · 2025 | 70.8%33rd/183 · 2024 |
| Trade openness % of GDP | 70.6%112th/183 · 2025 | 111.4%48th/183 · 2024 |
| Fuel exports % of merchandise exports | 33.3%28th/170 · 2024 | 0.0%2017 |
| Manufactures exports % of merchandise exports | 39.4%76th/171 · 2024 | 2.2%2018 |
| Food exports % of merchandise exports | 24.8%57th/171 · 2024 | 20.1%2018 |
| Ores & metals exports % of merchandise exports | 1.3%125th/171 · 2024 | 3.8%2018 |
| High-tech exports % of manufactured exports | 76.7%2nd/168 · 2024 | 1.4%2018 |
| Current account balance % of GDP | 5.7%32nd/191 · 2025 | 5.6%33rd/191 · 2025 |
| Foreign direct investment, inflows % of GDP | 0.2%169th/196 · 2025 | 3.8%56th/196 · 2025 |
| Natural resources | ||
| Natural resource rents % of GDP | 0.3%146th/209 · 2021 | 18.4%28th/209 · 2021 |
| Oil rents % of GDP | 0.00%120th/197 · 2021 | 0.00%120th/197 · 2021 |
| Natural gas rents % of GDP | 0.00%100th/197 · 2021 | 0.00%100th/197 · 2021 |
| Coal rents % of GDP | 0.00%68th/195 · 2021 | 0.00%68th/195 · 2021 |
| Mineral rents % of GDP | 0.00%91st/209 · 2021 | 0.00%91st/209 · 2021 |
| Forest rents % of GDP | 0.28%83rd/209 · 2021 | 18.40%1st/209 · 2021 |
| Arable land % of land area | 4.1%146th/206 · 2024 | 0.8%185th/206 · 2024 |
| Renewable freshwater per person m³ | — | 57,22910th/183 · 2022 |
| Tourism | ||
| International tourist arrivals arrivals | 23,900185th/194 · 2020 | 4,400192nd/194 · 2020 |
| Tourism receipts USD | $23.1 m161st/175 · 2020 | $7.0 m170th/175 · 2020 |
| Tourism receipts % of exports | 19.8%34th/168 · 2020 | 1.6%137th/168 · 2020 |
| Outbound trips departures | 18,500104th/107 · 2020 | — |
| Society & health | ||
| Life expectancy years | 71.8139th/217 · 2024 | 70.7149th/217 · 2024 |
| Under-5 mortality per 1,000 births | 14.998th/196 · 2024 | 20.0123rd/196 · 2024 |
| Physicians per 1,000 people | 0.56118th/174 · 2021 | 0.24140th/174 · 2023 |
| Hospital beds per 1,000 people | 1.02005 | 2.71992 |
| DPT immunization % of children 12–23 months | 85%132nd/193 · 2024 | 87%121st/193 · 2024 |
| Completed lower secondary, 25+ % of adults | 92.3%41st/153 · 2022 | 34.1%2015 |
| Secondary enrolment % gross | 87.4%2016 | 49.0%2012 |
| Social protection coverage (incl. pensions) % of population | 33.6%2008 | 1.7%2005 |
| Old-age dependency ratio % of working-age population | 10.9%124th/217 · 2025 | 6.1%177th/217 · 2025 |
| Health spending % of GDP | 6.8%91st/193 · 2023 | 5.4%122nd/193 · 2023 |
| Adult literacy % | 98.0%2019 | 76.6%1999 |
| Tertiary enrolment % gross | 16.0%127th/150 · 2024 | — |
| Human Development Index index 0–1 | 0.708122nd/193 · 2023 | 0.584156th/193 · 2023 |
| Income inequality (Gini) index | 38.72013 | 37.12012 |
| Extreme poverty % of population | 4.5%2013 | 40.3%2012 |
| Infrastructure & digital | ||
| Access to electricity % of population | 100.0%1st/215 · 2024 | 81.5%169th/215 · 2024 |
| Safely managed drinking water % of population | 62.5%100th/150 · 2024 | — |
| Safely managed sanitation % of population | 44.1%91st/144 · 2024 | — |
| Internet users % of population | 21.2%2014 | 29.0%170th/186 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptions per 100 people | 62190th/210 · 2022 | 62191st/210 · 2022 |
| Fixed broadband per 100 people | 0.9171st/208 · 2022 | 0.1194th/208 · 2022 |
| Trade & transport infrastructure quality (LPI) score 1–5 | — | 2.6080th/164 · 2022 |
| Air passengers carried passengers | 42,120144th/161 · 2023 | 157,418131st/161 · 2023 |
| Environment & energy | ||
| CO₂ emissions per person t CO₂e | 1.6079th/203 · 2024 | 0.3837th/203 · 2024 |
| Renewable energy % of final energy use | 35.9%67th/212 · 2022 | 50.1%49th/212 · 2022 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5) µg/m³ | 4.69th/200 · 2023 | 9.844th/200 · 2023 |
| Forest area % of land area | 57.6%38th/214 · 2024 | 89.8%5th/214 · 2024 |
| Energy use per person kg oil eq. | 3072007 | 1282007 |
| Institutions & safety | ||
| Government effectiveness score 0–100 | 56.588th/205 · 2025 | 35.0170th/205 · 2025 |
| Control of corruption score 0–100 | 61.353rd/207 · 2025 | 44.9101st/207 · 2025 |
| Rule of law score 0–100 | 76.133rd/207 · 2025 | 61.692nd/207 · 2025 |
| Political stability score 0–100 | 89.011th/207 · 2025 | 78.763rd/207 · 2025 |
| Regulatory quality score 0–100 | 54.2100th/205 · 2025 | 39.1176th/205 · 2025 |
| Voice & accountability score 0–100 | 74.544th/205 · 2025 | 69.161st/205 · 2025 |
| Homicide rate per 100,000 | 6.32018 | 3.72008 |
| Military | ||
| Arms imports (SIPRI TIV) TIV | 7.0 m2019 | 7.0 m117th/163 · 2021 |
| Science & innovation | ||
| Patent applications by residents applications | 1126th/137 · 2021 | — |
| Scientific articles articles | 22171st/197 · 2023 | 15180th/197 · 2023 |
Questions and answers
Which has more people, Samoa or Solomon Islands?
Solomon Islands has the larger population: 838,645 (2025) compared with 219,306 for Samoa (2025). Source: World Bank, SP.POP.TOTL.
Which is bigger by area, Samoa or Solomon Islands?
Solomon Islands is larger: 28,446 km² (2024) compared with 2,840 km² for Samoa (2024). Source: World Bank, AG.SRF.TOTL.K2.
Which economy is larger, Samoa or Solomon Islands?
Solomon Islands has the larger economy at purchasing power parity: $2.34 bn intl. (2025) compared with $2.04 bn intl. for Samoa (2025). Source: World Bank, NY.GDP.MKTP.PP.CD.
Which is richer per person, Samoa or Solomon Islands?
Samoa has the higher GDP per person (PPP): $9,319 intl. (2025) compared with $2,788 intl. for Solomon Islands (2025). Source: World Bank, NY.GDP.PCAP.PP.CD.
Where do people live longer, in Samoa or Solomon Islands?
Samoa has the higher life expectancy at birth: 71.8 years (2024) compared with 70.7 years for Solomon Islands (2024). Source: World Bank, SP.DYN.LE00.IN.
Which ranks higher in the NationsTree Index, Samoa or Solomon Islands?
Samoa: 50.2 points (87th in the world); Solomon Islands: 32.6 points (155th). The index combines foundations, economic strength, quality of life, problems and 5-year direction from public statistics.
Timor-Leste
Tonga
VanuatuSources
World Bank World Development Indicators and Worldwide Governance Indicators, compiling UN agencies, the IMF, WHO, SIPRI and national statistical offices; every row links to its world ranking with the source series. See Sources & licences and Methodology.
Cite as: NationsTree (2026). Samoa vs Solomon Islands — country comparison. https://nationstree.org/compare/samoa-vs-solomon-islands. Data as of 26 October 2026.