Honiara developed economically at a much faster rate than other parts of Solomon Islands; during the 1960s and 1970s, some two-thirds of the investment into economic development in the country went into developing the infrastructure of Honiara, despite the fact that at the time only some five percent of Solomon Islanders lived there.  Like Tulagi, the town did not grow substantially as a result of industrialisation. As Trevor Sofield says, "The shops and businesses in these centers served the needs of the government officials and expatriate businessmen, planters, and traders. Honiara, like many other ex-colonial cities, still reflects the political, economic, and cultural structure of its former metropolitan mentor much more than it does the national traits of Solomon Islands society."