Solomon Islands is a nation of islands in Oceania to the east of Papua New Guinea and to the north-west of Vanuatu. It consists of six major islands and more than 900 smaller islands. It has a population of approximately and a land area of 28,400 square kilometers (11,000 square miles). 700,000. Honiara, the nation's capital, is on Guadalcanal, the largest island. The Solomon Islands (archipelago), a group of Melanesian islands that includes the Autonomous Region of Bougainville but does not include the Santa Cruz Islands, is where the country gets its name.

The islands have been inhabited at least since 30,000 to 28,800 BCE. Later waves of migrants, most notably the Lapita, mixed with native Solomon Islanders to form the current population. The first European to visit them was Spanish navigator Lvaro de Mendaa in 1568. Although Mendaa did not give the islands a name, it is believed that those who later learned of his voyage and mapped his discovery gave them the name "the Solomons." Menda made another visit to the Solomon Islands in 1606, this time led by Portuguese navigator Pedro Fernandes de Queirós, decades later in 1595. In June 1893, Captain Gibson, R.N., of HMS Curacoa declared the southern Solomon Islands a British protectorate, defining Britain's interest area in the Solomon Islands. The United States, British Commonwealth forces, and the Empire of Japan engaged in bloody combat during the Solomon Islands campaign, which lasted from 1942 to 1945 and included the Battle of Guadalcanal.

In 1975, the British administration's official name was changed to "The Solomon Islands" from "British Solomon Islands Protectorate," and self-government was established the following year. In 1978, the country gained independence and adopted the name "Solomon Islands" (without the definite article). Solomon Islands became a constitutional monarchy upon independence. A governor-general serves as the country's representative, and Charles III is the King of the Solomon Islands.