Bahamas, The (2001) | Guam (2005) | |
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, Nicholls Town and Berry Islands, Ragged Island, Rock Sound, Sandy Point, San Salvador and Rum Cay | none (territory of the US) |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
29.43% (male 44,179; female 43,486) 15-64 years: 64.46% (male 94,329; female 97,674) 65 years and over: 6.11% (male 7,618; female 10,566) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 29.4% (male 25,645/female 23,887)
15-64 years: 64.1% (male 55,115/female 52,935) 65 years and over: 6.5% (male 5,157/female 5,825) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | citrus, vegetables; poultry | fruits, copra, vegetables; eggs, pork, poultry, beef |
Airports | 65 (2000 est.) | 5 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
36 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 16 914 to 1,523 m: 13 under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
total: 4
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
29 914 to 1,523 m: 6 under 914 m: 23 (2000 est.) |
total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Area | total:
13,940 sq km land: 10,070 sq km water: 3,870 sq km |
total: 549 sq km
land: 549 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Connecticut | three times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | 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 its territory is used for smuggling illegal migrants into the US. | Guam was ceded to the US by Spain in 1898. Captured by the Japanese in 1941, it was retaken by the US three years later. The military installation on the island is one of the most strategically important US bases in the Pacific. |
Birth rate | 19.1 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 19.03 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$766 million expenditures: $845 million, including capital expenditures of $97 million (FY97/98) |
revenues: $340 million
expenditures: $445 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | Nassau | Hagatna (Agana) |
Climate | tropical marine; moderated by warm waters of Gulf Stream | tropical marine; generally warm and humid, moderated by northeast trade winds; dry season from January to June, rainy season from July to December; little seasonal temperature variation |
Coastline | 3,542 km | 125.5 km |
Constitution | 10 July 1973 | Organic Act of 1 August 1950 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Commonwealth of The Bahamas conventional short form: The Bahamas |
conventional long form: Territory of Guam
conventional short form: Guam local long form: Guahan |
Currency | Bahamian dollar (BSD) | - |
Death rate | 7.14 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 4.41 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $385.8 million (2000 est.) | NA |
Dependency status | - | organized, unincorporated territory of the US with policy relations between Guam and the US under the jurisdiction of the Office of Insular Affairs, US Department of the Interior |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador-designate J. Richard BLANKENSHIP embassy: Queen Street, Nassau mailing address: local or express mail address: P. O. Box N-8197, Nassau; stateside address: American Embassy Nassau, P. O. Box 599009, Miami, FL 33159-9009; pouch address: Nassau, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-3370 telephone: [1] (242) 322-1181, 328-2206 FAX: [1] (242) 356-0222 |
none (territory of the US) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Joshua SEARS chancery: 2220 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 319-2660 FAX: [1] (202) 319-2668 consulate(s) general: Miami and New York |
none (territory of the US) |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $9.8 million (1995) | Guam receives large transfer payments from the US Federal Treasury ($143 million in 1997) into which Guamanians pay no income or excise taxes; under the provisions of a special law of Congress, the Guam Treasury, rather than the US Treasury, receives federal income taxes paid by military and civilian Federal employees stationed in Guam (2001 est.) |
Economy - overview | The Bahamas is a stable, developing nation with an economy heavily dependent on tourism and offshore banking. Tourism alone accounts for more than 60% of GDP and directly or indirectly employs 40% of the archipelago's labor force. Moderate growth in tourism receipts and a boom in construction of new hotels, resorts, and residences led to an increase of the country's GDP by an estimated 3% in 1998, 6% in 1999, and 4.5% in 2000. Manufacturing and agriculture together contribute only 10% of GDP and show little growth, despite government incentives aimed at those sectors. Overall growth prospects in the short run will depend heavily on the fortunes of the tourism sector and continued sturdy growth in the US, which accounts for the majority of tourist visitors. | The economy depends on US military spending, tourism, and the export of fish and handicrafts. Total US grants, wage payments, and procurement outlays amounted to $1 billion in 1998. Over the past 20 years, the tourist industry has grown rapidly, creating a construction boom for new hotels and the expansion of older ones. More than 1 million tourists visit Guam each year. The industry had recently suffered setbacks because of the continuing Japanese slowdown; the Japanese normally make up almost 90% of the tourists. Most food and industrial goods are imported. Guam faces the problem of building up the civilian economic sector to offset the impact of military downsizing. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.362 billion kWh (1999) | 776.6 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 1.465 billion kWh (1999) | 835 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Alvernia, on Cat Island 63 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Lamlam 406 m |
Environment - current issues | coral reef decay; solid waste disposal | extirpation of native bird population by the rapid proliferation of the brown tree snake, an exotic, invasive species |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, 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% | Chamorro 37.1%, Filipino 26.3%, other Pacific islander 11.3%, white 6.9%, other Asian 6.3%, other ethnic origin or race 2.3%, mixed 9.8% (2000 census) |
Exchange rates | Bahamian dollars per US dollar - 1.000 (fixed rate pegged to the dollar) | the US dollar is used |
Executive branch | chief of state:
Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Sir Orville TURNQUEST (since 2 January 1995) head of government: Prime Minister Hubert Alexander INGRAHAM (since 19 August 1992) and Deputy Prime Minister Frank WATSON (since December 1994) 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; prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed by the governor general |
chief of state: President George W. BUSH of the US (since 20 January 2001); Vice President Richard B. CHENEY (since 20 January 2001)
head of government: Governor Felix P. P. CAMACHO (since 6 January 2003) and Lieutenant Governor Kaleo MOYLAN (since 6 January 2003) cabinet: executive departments; heads appointed by the governor with the consent of the Guam legislature elections: US president and vice president elected on the same ticket for a four-year term; governor and lieutenant governor elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year term; election last held 5 November 2002 (next to be held November 2006) election results: Felix P. P. CAMACHO elected governor; percent of vote - Felix P. P. CAMACHO (Republican Party) 55.4%, Robert A. UNDERWOOD (Democratic Party) 44.6% |
Exports | $376.8 million (2000 est.) | NA |
Exports - commodities | pharmaceuticals, cement, rum, crawfish, refined petroleum products | mostly transshipments of refined petroleum products; construction materials, fish, food and beverage products |
Exports - partners | US 22.3%, Switzerland 15.6%, UK 15%, Denmark 7.4% (1998) | Japan 66.1%, South Korea 9.9%, Singapore 8.4% (2004) |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | 1 October - 30 September |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of aquamarine (top), gold, and aquamarine, with a black equilateral triangle based on the hoist side | territorial flag is dark blue with a narrow red border on all four sides; centered is a red-bordered, pointed, vertical ellipse containing a beach scene, outrigger canoe with sail, and a palm tree with the word GUAM superimposed in bold red letters; US flag is the national flag |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $4.5 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
3% industry: 7% services: 90% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 7%
industry: 15% services: 78% (2002 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $15,000 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $21,000 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.5% (2000 est.) | NA |
Geographic coordinates | 24 15 N, 76 00 W | 13 28 N, 144 47 E |
Geography - note | strategic location adjacent to US and Cuba; extensive island chain | largest and southernmost island in the Mariana Islands archipelago; strategic location in western North Pacific Ocean |
Heliports | 1 (2000 est.) | - |
Highways | total:
2,693 km paved: 1,546 km unpaved: 1,147 km (1997) |
total: 977 km
paved: 962 km unpaved: 15 km (2004) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for cocaine and marijuana bound for US and Europe; banking industry vulnerable to money laundering | - |
Imports | $1.73 billion (2000 est.) | NA |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, manufactured goods, crude oil, vehicles, electronics | petroleum and petroleum products, food, manufactured goods |
Imports - partners | US 27.3%, Italy 26.5%, Japan 10%, Denmark 4.2% (1998) | Singapore 39.5%, South Korea 20.8%, Japan 19%, Hong Kong 9%, Philippines 4.3% (2004) |
Independence | 10 July 1973 (from UK) | none (territory of the US) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA |
Industries | tourism, banking, cement, oil refining and transshipment, salt, rum, aragonite, pharmaceuticals, spiral-welded steel pipe | US military, tourism, construction, transshipment services, concrete products, printing and publishing, food processing, textiles |
Infant mortality rate | 17.03 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 6.94 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 7.61 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.24 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.9% (2000 est.) | 0% (1999 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, C, Caricom, CCC, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO (observer) | Interpol (subbureau), IOC, UPU |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 19 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | NA |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Court of Appeal; magistrates courts | Federal District Court (judge is appointed by the president); Territorial Superior Court (judges appointed for eight-year terms by the governor) |
Labor force | 156,000 (1999) | 60,000 (2000 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | tourism 40%, other services 50%, industry 5%, agriculture 5% (1995 est.) | private 74% (industry 10%, trade 24%, other services 40%), federal and territorial government 26% (2000 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land:
1% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 32% other: 67% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 9.09%
permanent crops: 16.36% other: 74.55% (2001) |
Languages | English, Creole (among Haitian immigrants) | English 38.3%, Chamorro 22.2%, Philippine languages 22.2%, other Pacific island languages 6.8%, Asian languages 7%, other languages 3.5% (2000 census) |
Legal system | based on English common law | modeled on US; US federal laws apply |
Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (16-member body appointed by the governor general upon the advice of the prime minister and the opposition leader for five-year terms) and the House of Assembly (40 seats; members elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 14 March 1997 (next to be held by March 2002) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - FNM 35, PLP 5 |
unicameral Legislature (15 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve two-year terms)
elections: last held 2 November 2004 (next to be held November 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Democratic Party 6, Republican Party 9 note: Guam elects one nonvoting delegate to the US House of Representatives; election last held 2 November 2004 (next to be held November 2006); results - Madeleine BORDALLO (Democratic Party) was elected as delegate; percent of vote by party - Democratic Party 64.6%, Republican Party 35.4%; seats by party - Democratic Party 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
70.46 years male: 67.27 years female: 73.71 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 78.4 years
male: 75.34 years female: 81.64 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98.2% male: 98.5% female: 98% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (1990 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, chain of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of Florida | Oceania, island in the North Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to the Philippines |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Oceania |
Maritime claims | continental shelf:
200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total:
1,049 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 30,000,221 GRT/44,601,471 DWT ships by type: bulk 185, cargo 214, chemical tanker 36, combination bulk 15, combination ore/oil 22, container 66, liquefied gas 33, livestock carrier 1, multi-functional large-load carrier 4, passenger 79, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 182, railcar carrier 1, refrigerated cargo 118, roll on/roll off 50, short-sea passenger 15, specialized tanker 3, vehicle carrier 24 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Algeria 2, Australia 1, Austria 1, Bermuda 6, Belgium 14, Canada 1, Cuba 1, Cyprus 2, Denmark 17, Finland 7, France 9, Germany 9, Greece 89, Hong Kong 7, Indonesia 2, India 1, Israel 4, Italy 8, Japan 23, Jamaica 1, Kenya 1, Lebanon 2, Luxembourg 2, Monaco 15, Malaysia 1, Netherlands 16, Norway 139, Poland 3, Portugal 2, Russia 2, Saudi Arabia 5, Singapore 12, Spain 7, Sweden 14, Syria 1, Switzerland 7, UAE 1, Trinidad and Tobago 2, UK 67, Ukraine 3, US 50, British Virgin Islands 1, British Virgin Islands 1 (2000 est.) |
- |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the US |
Military branches | Royal Bahamas Defense Force (Coast Guard only), Royal Bahamas Police Force | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $20 million (FY95/96) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 10 July (1973) | Discovery Day, first Monday in March (1521) |
Nationality | noun:
Bahamian(s) adjective: Bahamian |
noun: Guamanian(s)
adjective: Guamanian |
Natural hazards | hurricanes and other tropical storms that cause extensive flood and wind damage | frequent squalls during rainy season; relatively rare, but potentially very destructive typhoons (June - December) |
Natural resources | salt, aragonite, timber, arable land | fishing (largely undeveloped), tourism (especially from Japan) |
Net migration rate | -2.65 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Free National Movement or FNM [Hubert Alexander INGRAHAM]; Progressive Liberal Party or PLP [Perry CHRISTIE] | Democratic Party [leader Michael PHILLIPS]; Republican Party (controls the legislature) [leader Philip J. FLORES] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 297,852
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 2001 est.) |
168,564 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 23% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.93% (2001 est.) | 1.46% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Freeport, Matthew Town, Nassau | Apra Harbor |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 3, FM 4, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 4, FM 7, shortwave 2 (2003) |
Radios | 215,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | - |
Religions | Baptist 32%, Anglican 20%, Roman Catholic 19%, Methodist 6%, Church of God 6%, other Protestant 12%, none or unknown 3%, other 2% | Roman Catholic 85%, other 15% (1999 est.) |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.02 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.88 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal; US citizens, but do not vote in US presidential elections |
Telephone system | general assessment:
modern facilities domestic: totally automatic system; highly developed international: tropospheric scatter and submarine cable to Florida; 3 coaxial submarine cables; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (1997) |
general assessment: modern system, integrated with US facilities for direct dialing, including free use of 800 numbers
domestic: modern digital system, including cellular mobile service and local access to the Internet international: country code - 1-671; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean); submarine cables to US and Japan (Guam is a trans-Pacific communications hub for MCI, Sprint, AT&T, IT&E, and GTE, linking the US and Asia) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 96,000 (1997) | 84,134 (2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 6,152 (1997) | 32,600 (2001) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 5 (1997) |
Terrain | long, flat coral formations with some low rounded hills | volcanic origin, surrounded by coral reefs; relatively flat coralline limestone plateau (source of most fresh water), with steep coastal cliffs and narrow coastal plains in north, low hills in center, mountains in south |
Total fertility rate | 2.3 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.6 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 9% (1998 est.) | 15% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | none | - |