Malaita Island

Malaita is the main island of Solomon Islands' Malaita Province. Malaita is the Solomon Islands' most populous island, with a population of 161,832 people as of 2021, accounting for more than a third of the country's total population. It is also the country's second-largest island by area, after Guadalcanal. Malaita is a tropical and mountainous island with undeveloped river systems and tropical vegetation.

Auki, on the northwest coast and on the northern shore of the Langa Langa Lagoon, is the major city and province capital. The people of the Langa Langa and Lau Lagoons on Malaita's northeast coast are known as wane I asi, or "salt-water people," as opposed to wane I tolo, or "bush people," who live in the interior of the island.

Mala, or its dialect variants Mara and Mwala, are the most common names for the island. The name Malaita or Malayta appears in the logbooks of Spanish explorers who visited the islands in the 16th century, claiming it to be the correct name.

Location: Malaita Province