Flag of Solomon Islands
Location of Solomon Islands on the globe

Solomon Islands

SB

Oceania

Solomon Islands is home to 3 documented ethnic groups in Oceania — led by Melanesian Solomon (~95%), Polynesian Solomon (~3%), Solomon Islands Other (~2%). This page blends their phenotype and demographic data into one weighted reference: skin tone, facial features, hair texture and build, drawn from published census and ancestry sources.

Demographic Composition

Composition weights are derived from self-identification in published census and demographic surveys. Each row links to the source ethnic-group atlas page.

Ethnic groupWeightSource
Melanesian SolomonMelanesian Solomon95.3%Solomon Islands 2019 Census; Melanesian Solomon Islander (~95.3%, ~720,000+ of ~755,000+ total). The Indigenous Melanesian source populations across the Solomon Islands' approximately 80+ ethno-linguistic groups. Notable for documented natural blondism in some Western Solomon Islands populations — the highest blondism frequency globally outside Northern Europe attributed to a distinctive TYRP1 gene variant (Kenny et al. 2012)
Polynesian SolomonPolynesian Solomon3.0%Solomon Islands 2019 Census; Polynesian (~3%); the historic Polynesian outlier populations including Rennell, Bellona, Sikaiana, Anuta, Tikopia
Solomon Islands OtherSolomon Islands Other1.7%Solomon Islands 2019 Census residual; includes Micronesian-Solomon (the Gilbertese-relocated populations from Kiribati), I-Kiribati-Solomon, Chinese-Solomon, plus other smaller groups

Solomon Islands Phenotype Profile

Solomon Islands has a strongly Melanesian demographic profile (~95.3%) with smaller Polynesian outlier (~3%) and other (~1.7%) communities. The country is notable for the documented natural blondism in Western Solomon Islands populations attributed to a distinctive TYRP1 gene variant (Kenny et al. 2012).

A descriptive view, not a claim about individuals

This page shows a weighted aggregate of phenotype observations across the Solomon Islands population, based on demographic composition from published census and ancestry sources. Phenotypes within any country are far more varied than the aggregate suggests; this is a descriptive reference, not a deterministic claim about any individual. For source-level detail on individual ethnic groups, see the constituent atlas pages linked below.

Methodology Notes

Composition weights derived from Solomon Islands 2019 Census.

See full project methodology →

Primary Sources

  1. 1.Solomon Islands National Statistics Office. Population and Housing Census 2019. Honiara: SINSO; 2021.
  2. 2.Kenny EE, Timpson NJ, Sikora M, et al. Melanesian blond hair is caused by an amino acid change in TYRP1. Science. 2012;336(6081):554.
  3. 3.Skoglund P, Posth C, Sirak K, et al. Genomic insights into the peopling of the Southwest Pacific. Nature. 2016;538(7626):510-513.
  4. 4.Bennett JA. Wealth of the Solomons: A History of a Pacific Archipelago, 1800-1978. University of Hawaii Press; 1987.
  5. 5.Fraenkel J. The Manipulation of Custom: From Uprising to Intervention in the Solomon Islands. Pandanus Books; 2004.

Other countries in Oceania

Aggregate phenotype references for neighbouring Oceania nations, weighted by demographic composition.