Compare Ashmore and Cartier Islands (2008) - Bahamas, The (2008)

Compare Ashmore and Cartier Islands (2008) z Bahamas, The (2008)

	Ashmore and Cartier Islands (2008)	Bahamas, The (2008)

Administrative divisions	-	21 districts; Acklins and Crooked Islands, Bimini, Cat Island, Exuma, Freeport, Fresh Creek, Governor's Harbour, Green Turtle Cay, Harbour Island, High Rock, Inagua, Kemps Bay, Long Island, Marsh Harbour, Mayaguana, New Providence, Nichollstown and Berry Islands, Ragged Island, Rock Sound, Sandy Point, San Salvador and Rum Cay
Age structure	-	0-14 years: 27% (male 41,268/female 41,186) 15-64 years: 66.5% (male 99,961/female 103,230) 65 years and over: 6.5% (male 8,176/female 11,834) (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products	-	citrus, vegetables; poultry
Airports	-	62 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways	-	total: 24 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 12 914 to 1,523 m: 7 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways	-	total: 38 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 22 (2007)
Area	total: 5 sq km land: 5 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Ashmore Reef (West, Middle, and East Islets) and Cartier Island	total: 13,940 sq km land: 10,070 sq km water: 3,870 sq km
Area - comparative	about eight times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC	slightly smaller than Connecticut
Background	These uninhabited islands came under Australian authority in 1931; formal administration began two years later. Ashmore Reef supports a rich and diverse avian and marine habitat; in 1983, it became a National Nature Reserve. Cartier Island, a former bombing range, is now a marine reserve.	Lucayan Indians inhabited the islands when Christopher COLUMBUS first set foot in the New World on San Salvador in 1492. British settlement of the islands began in 1647; the islands became a colony in 1783. Since attaining independence from the UK in 1973, The Bahamas have prospered through tourism and international banking and investment management. Because of its geography, the country is a major transshipment point for illegal drugs, particularly shipments to the US and Europe, and its territory is used for smuggling illegal migrants into the US.
Birth rate	-	17.3 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget	-	revenues: $1.03 billion expenditures: $1.03 billion (FY04/05)
Capital	-	name: Nassau geographic coordinates: 25 05 N, 77 21 W time difference: UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins second Sunday in March; ends first Sunday in November
Climate	tropical	tropical marine; moderated by warm waters of Gulf Stream
Coastline	74.1 km	3,542 km
Constitution	-	10 July 1973
Country name	conventional long form: Territory of Ashmore and Cartier Islands conventional short form: Ashmore and Cartier Islands	conventional long form: Commonwealth of The Bahamas conventional short form: The Bahamas
Death rate	-	9.13 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external	-	$342.6 million (2004 est.)
Dependency status	territory of Australia; administered by the Australian Attorney-General's Department	-
Diplomatic representation from the US	none (territory of Australia)	chief of mission: Ambassador Ned L. SIEGEL embassy: 42 Queen Street, Nassau mailing address: local or express mail address: P. O. Box N-8197, Nassau; US Department of State, 3370 Nassau Place, Washington, DC 20521-3370 telephone: [1] (242) 322-1181, 356-3229 (after hours) FAX: [1] (242) 356-0222
Diplomatic representation in the US	none (territory of Australia)	chief of mission: Ambassador Cornelius A. SMITH chancery: 2220 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 319-2660 FAX: [1] (202) 319-2668 consulate(s) general: Miami, New York
Disputes - international	Indonesian groups challenge Australia's claim to these islands; Australia closed parts of the Ashmore and Cartier Reserve to Indonesian traditional fishing and placed restrictions on certain catches	disagrees with the US on the alignment of a potential maritime boundary; continues to monitor and interdict drug dealers and Haitian refugees in Bahamian waters
Economic aid - recipient	-	$4.78 million (2004)
Economy - overview	no economic activity	The Bahamas is one of the wealthiest Caribbean countries with an economy heavily dependent on tourism and offshore banking. Tourism together with tourism-driven construction and manufacturing accounts for approximately 60% of GDP and directly or indirectly employs half of the archipelago's labor force. Steady growth in tourism receipts and a boom in construction of new hotels, resorts, and residences had led to solid GDP growth in recent years, but tourist arrivals have been on the decline since 2006. Financial services constitute the second-most important sector of the Bahamian economy and, when combined with business services, account for about 36% of GDP. However, since December 2000, when the government enacted new regulations on the financial sector, many international businesses have left The Bahamas. Manufacturing and agriculture combined contribute approximately a tenth of GDP and show little growth, despite government incentives aimed at those sectors. Overall growth prospects in the short run rest heavily on the fortunes of the tourism sector. Tourism, in turn, depends on growth in the US, the source of more than 80% of the visitors.
Electricity - consumption	-	1.762 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports	-	0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports	-	0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - production	-	1.894 billion kWh (2005)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location 3 m	lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Alvernia, on Cat Island 63 m
Environment - current issues	NA	coral reef decay; solid waste disposal
Environment - international agreements	-	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Ethnic groups	-	black 85%, white 12%, Asian and Hispanic 3%
Exchange rates	-	Bahamian dollars per US dollar - 1 (2007), 1 (2006), 1 (2005), 1 (2004), 1 (2003)
Executive branch	-	chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor General Arthur D. HANNA (since 1 February 2006) head of government: Prime Minister Hubert A. INGRAHAM (since 4 May 2007) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the prime minister's recommendation elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; the prime minister recommends the deputy prime minister
Exports	-	transshipments of 41,290 bbl/day (2004)
Exports - commodities	-	mineral products and salt, animal products, rum, chemicals, fruit and vegetables
Exports - partners	-	Spain 22.3%, US 19.8%, Poland 13.5%, Germany 13%, UK 5.7%, Guatemala 4.9% (2006)
Fiscal year	-	1 July - 30 June
Flag description	the flag of Australia is used	three equal horizontal bands of aquamarine (top), gold, and aquamarine, with a black equilateral triangle based on the hoist side
GDP - composition by sector	-	agriculture: 3% industry: 7% services: 90% (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	-	2.8% (2007 est.)
Geographic coordinates	12 14 S, 123 05 E	24 15 N, 76 00 W
Geography - note	Ashmore Reef National Nature Reserve established in August 1983	strategic location adjacent to US and Cuba; extensive island chain of which 30 are inhabited
Heliports	-	1 (2007)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	-	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: 27% (2000)
Illicit drugs	-	transshipment point for cocaine and marijuana bound for US and Europe; offshore financial center
Imports	-	68,250 bbl/day (2004)
Imports - commodities	-	machinery and transport equipment, manufactures, chemicals, mineral fuels; food and live animals
Imports - partners	-	US 24.7%, Brazil 15.7%, Japan 13.1%, South Korea 7.8%, Spain 6.2% (2006)
Independence	-	10 July 1973 (from UK)
Industrial production growth rate	-	NA%
Industries	-	tourism, banking, cement, oil transshipment, salt, rum, aragonite, pharmaceuticals, spiral-welded steel pipe
Infant mortality rate	-	total: 24.17 deaths/1,000 live births male: 29.58 deaths/1,000 live births female: 18.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	-	2.4% (2007 est.)
International organization participation	-	ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITSO, ITU, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)
Irrigated land	0 sq km	10 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch	-	Privy Council (London); Courts of Appeal; Supreme (lower) Court; magistrates courts
Labor force	-	181,900 (2006)
Labor force - by occupation	-	agriculture 5%, industry 5%, tourism 50%, other services 40% (2005 est.)
Land boundaries	0 km	0 km
Land use	arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (all grass and sand) (2005)	arable land: 0.58% permanent crops: 0.29% other: 99.13% (2005)
Languages	-	English (official), Creole (among Haitian immigrants)
Legal system	the laws of the Commonwealth of Australia and the laws of the Northern Territory of Australia, where applicable, apply	based on English common law
Legislative branch	-	bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (16 seats; members appointed by the governor general upon the advice of the prime minister and the opposition leader to serve five-year terms) and the House of Assembly (41 seats; members elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms); the government may dissolve the Parliament and call elections at any time elections: last held 2 May 2007 (next to be called by May 2012) election results: percent of vote by party - FNM 49.86%, PLP 47.02%; seats by party - FNM 23, PLP 18
Life expectancy at birth	-	total population: 65.66 years male: 62.37 years female: 69.02 years (2007 est.)
Literacy	-	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 95.6% male: 94.7% female: 96.5% (2003 est.)
Location	Southeastern Asia, islands in the Indian Ocean, midway between northwestern Australia and Timor island	Caribbean, chain of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of Florida, northeast of Cuba
Map references	Southeast Asia	Central America and the Caribbean
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 12 nm exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Merchant marine	-	total: 1,213 ships (1000 GRT or over) 40,403,455 GRT/54,276,183 DWT by type: barge carrier 1, bulk carrier 225, cargo 240, chemical tanker 84, combination ore/oil 13, container 72, liquefied gas 49, livestock carrier 2, passenger 117, passenger/cargo 34, petroleum tanker 196, refrigerated cargo 118, roll on/roll off 18, specialized tanker 4, specialized tanker 1, vehicle carrier 39 foreign-owned: 1,134 (Angola 6, Australia 3, Belgium 15, Bermuda 12, Brazil 1, Canada 13, China 9, Croatia 1, Cuba 1, Cyprus 20, Denmark 66, Finland 8, France 43, Germany 40, Greece 214, Hong Kong 3, Iceland 1, Indonesia 3, Ireland 2, Italy 1, Japan 62, Jordan 2, Kenya 1, Malaysia 11, Monaco 11, Montenegro 2, Netherlands 24, Nigeria 2, Norway 232, Philippines 1, Poland 15, Russia 5, Saudi Arabia 15, Singapore 9, Slovenia 1, South Africa 1, Spain 11, Sweden 5, Switzerland 2, Taiwan 1, Thailand 1, Trinidad and Tobago 1, Turkey 5, UAE 20, UK 68, US 162, Uruguay 1, Venezuela 1) registered in other countries: 3 (Barbados 1, Panama 2) (2007)
Military - note	defense is the responsibility of Australia; periodic visits by the Royal Australian Navy and Royal Australian Air Force	-
Military branches	-	Royal Bahamian Defense Force: Land Force, Navy, Air Wing (2007)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	-	0.5% (2006)
National holiday	-	Independence Day, 10 July (1973)
Nationality	-	noun: Bahamian(s) adjective: Bahamian
Natural hazards	surrounded by shoals and reefs that can pose maritime hazards	hurricanes and other tropical storms cause extensive flood and wind damage
Natural resources	fish	salt, aragonite, timber, arable land
Net migration rate	-	-2.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
People - note	the landing of illegal immigrants from Indonesia's Rote Island has become an ongoing problem	-
Political parties and leaders	-	Free National Movement or FNM [Hubert INGRAHAM]; Progressive Liberal Party or PLP [Perry CHRISTIE]
Political pressure groups and leaders	-	NA
Population	no indigenous inhabitants note: Indonesian fishermen are allowed access to the lagoon and fresh water at Ashmore Reef's West Island	305,655 note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line	-	9.3% (2004)
Population growth rate	-	0.602% (2007 est.)
Radio broadcast stations	-	AM 3, FM 5, shortwave 0 (2006)
Religions	-	Baptist 35.4%, Anglican 15.1%, Roman Catholic 13.5%, Pentecostal 8.1%, Church of God 4.8%, Methodist 4.2%, other Christian 15.2%, none or unspecified 2.9%, other 0.8% (2000 census)
Sex ratio	-	at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.002 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.968 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.691 male(s)/female total population: 0.956 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
Suffrage	-	18 years of age; universal
Telephone system	-	general assessment: modern facilities domestic: totally automatic system; highly developed; the Bahamas Domestic Submarine Network links 14 of the islands and is designed to satisfy increasing demand for voice and broadband internet services international: country code - 1-242; landing point for the Americas Region Caribbean Ring System (ARCOS-1) fiber-optic submarine cable that provides links to South and Central America, parts of the Caribbean, and the US; satellite earth station - 2 (2007)
Telephones - main lines in use	-	133,100 (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular	-	227,800 (2005)
Television broadcast stations	-	2 (2006)
Terrain	low with sand and coral	long, flat coral formations with some low rounded hills
Total fertility rate	-	2.15 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate	-	7.6% (2006 est.)

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