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Compare Bahamas, The (2004) - British Virgin Islands (2008)
Compare Bahamas, The (2004) z British Virgin Islands (2008)
| Bahamas, The (2004) | British Virgin Islands (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 | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
| Age structure | 0-14 years: 28.3% (male 42,474; female 42,423)
15-64 years: 65.7% (male 96,825; female 99,985) 65 years and over: 6% (male 7,351; female 10,639) (2004 est.) |
0-14 years: 20.2% (male 2,410/female 2,337)
15-64 years: 74.5% (male 9,004/female 8,534) 65 years and over: 5.4% (male 665/female 602) (2007 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | citrus, vegetables; poultry | fruits, vegetables; livestock, poultry; fish |
| Airports | 63 (2003 est.) | 3 (2007) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total: 29
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 14 914 to 1,523 m: 9 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 34
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 21 (2004 est.) |
total: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2007) |
| Area | total: 13,940 sq km
land: 10,070 sq km water: 3,870 sq km |
total: 153 sq km
land: 153 sq km water: 0 sq km note: comprised of 16 inhabited and more than 20 uninhabited islands; includes the islands of Tortola, Anegada, Virgin Gorda, Jost van Dyke |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Connecticut | about 0.9 times the size of Washington, DC |
| Background | Arawak 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 its territory is used for smuggling illegal migrants into the US. | First inhabited by Arawak and later by Carib Indians, the Virgin Islands were settled by the Dutch in 1648 and then annexed by the English in 1672. The islands were part of the British colony of the Leeward Islands from 1872-1960; they were granted autonomy in 1967. The economy is closely tied to the larger and more populous US Virgin Islands to the west; the US dollar is the legal currency. |
| Birth rate | 18.22 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 14.82 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $918.5 million
expenditures: $956.5 million, including capital expenditures of $106.7 million (FY99/00) |
revenues: $204.7 million
expenditures: $180.4 million (2004) |
| Capital | Nassau | name: Road Town
geographic coordinates: 18 27 N, 64 37 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
| Climate | tropical marine; moderated by warm waters of Gulf Stream | subtropical; humid; temperatures moderated by trade winds |
| Coastline | 3,542 km | 80 km |
| Constitution | 10 July 1973 | 13 June 2007 |
| Country name | conventional long form: Commonwealth of The Bahamas
conventional short form: The Bahamas |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: British Virgin Islands abbreviation: BVI |
| Currency | Bahamian dollar (BSD) | - |
| Death rate | 8.82 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 4.42 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Debt - external | $308.5 million (2002) | $36.1 million (1997) |
| Dependency status | - | overseas territory of the UK; internal self-governing |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador John D. ROOD
embassy: 42 Queen Street, Nassau mailing address: local or express mail address: P. O. Box N-8197, Nassau; Department of State, 3370 Nassau Place, Washington, DC 20521-3370 telephone: [1] (242) 322-1181, 328-2206 (after hours) FAX: [1] (242) 356-0222 |
none (overseas territory of the UK) |
| 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 (overseas territory of the UK) |
| Disputes - international | concerned about migrants fleeing Haiti's deteriorated economic and political conditions | none |
| Economic aid - recipient | $9.8 million (1995) | $NA |
| 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 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 the slowdown in the US economy and the attacks of 11 September 2001 held back growth in these sectors in 2001-03. Financial services constitute the second-most important sector of the Bahamian economy, accounting for about 15% 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 together 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, which depends on growth in the US, the source of more than 80% of the visitors. In addition to tourism and banking, the government supports the development of a "third pillar," e-commerce. | The economy, one of the most stable and prosperous in the Caribbean, is highly dependent on tourism, generating an estimated 45% of the national income. An estimated 820,000 tourists, mainly from the US, visited the islands in 2005. In the mid-1980s, the government began offering offshore registration to companies wishing to incorporate in the islands, and incorporation fees now generate substantial revenues. Roughly 400,000 companies were on the offshore registry by yearend 2000. The adoption of a comprehensive insurance law in late 1994, which provides a blanket of confidentiality with regulated statutory gateways for investigation of criminal offenses, made the British Virgin Islands even more attractive to international business. Livestock raising is the most important agricultural activity; poor soils limit the islands' ability to meet domestic food requirements. Because of traditionally close links with the US Virgin Islands, the British Virgin Islands has used the US dollar as its currency since 1959. |
| Electricity - consumption | 1.451 billion kWh (2001) | 41.85 million kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - production | 1.56 billion kWh (2001) | 45 million kWh (2005) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Alvernia, on Cat Island 63 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Sage 521 m |
| Environment - current issues | coral reef decay; solid waste disposal | limited natural fresh water resources (except for a few seasonal streams and springs on Tortola, most of the islands' water supply comes from wells and rainwater catchments) |
| 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% | black 83%, other 17% (includes white, Indian, Asian and mixed) |
| Exchange rates | Bahamian dollars per US dollar - 1 (2003), 1 (2002), 1 (2001), 1 (2000), 1 (1999) | the US dollar is used |
| Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Dame Ivy DUMONT (since NA May 2002)
head of government: Prime Minister Perry CHRISTIE (since 3 May 2002) and Deputy Prime Minister Cynthia PRATT (since 7 May 2002) 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 |
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor David PEAREY (since 18 April 2006)
head of government: Premier Ralph T. O'NEAL (since 23 August 2007) cabinet: Executive Council appointed by the governor from members of the House of Assembly elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed premier by the governor |
| Exports | NA (2001) | 0 bbl/day (2004) |
| Exports - commodities | fish and crawfish; rum, salt, chemicals; fruit and vegetables | rum, fresh fish, fruits, animals; gravel, sand |
| Exports - partners | US 35%, Spain 9.6%, Germany 7.8%, France 7.6%, Poland 5.3%, Switzerland 4.8%, Peru 4.2%, Paraguay 4.2% (2003) | Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US (2006) |
| Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | 1 April - 31 March |
| Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of aquamarine (top), gold, and aquamarine, with a black equilateral triangle based on the hoist side | blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Virgin Islander coat of arms centered in the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms depicts a woman flanked on either side by a vertical column of six oil lamps above a scroll bearing the Latin word VIGILATE (Be Watchful) |
| GDP | purchasing power parity - $5.049 billion (2003 est.) | - |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 3%
industry: 7% services: 90% (2001 est.) |
agriculture: 1.8%
industry: 6.2% services: 92% (1996 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $16,700 (2003 est.) | - |
| GDP - real growth rate | 0% (2003 est.) | 1% (2002 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 24 15 N, 76 00 W | 18 30 N, 64 30 W |
| Geography - note | strategic location adjacent to US and Cuba; extensive island chain of which 30 are inhabited | strong ties to nearby US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico |
| Heliports | 1 (2003 est.) | - |
| Highways | total: 2,693 km
paved: 1,546 km unpaved: 1,147 km (1999 est.) |
- |
| 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; offshore financial center | transshipment point for South American narcotics destined for the US and Europe; large offshore financial center makes it vulnerable to money laundering |
| Imports | NA (2001) | 604.3 bbl/day (2004) |
| Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, manufactures, chemicals, mineral fuels; food and live animals | building materials, automobiles, foodstuffs, machinery |
| Imports - partners | US 20.8%, South Korea 17.4%, Italy 11.4%, France 9.1%, Brazil 7.5%, Japan 5.6%, Venezuela 5.3% (2003) | Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US (2006) |
| Independence | 10 July 1973 (from UK) | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
| Industrial production growth rate | NA (2002 est.) | NA% |
| Industries | tourism, banking, e-commerce, cement, oil refining and transshipment, salt, rum, aragonite, pharmaceuticals, spiral-welded steel pipe | tourism, light industry, construction, rum, concrete block, offshore financial center |
| Infant mortality rate | total: 25.7 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 31.73 deaths/1,000 live births female: 19.55 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
total: 16.13 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 18.82 deaths/1,000 live births female: 13.29 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.7% (2002 est.) | 2% (2005) |
| International organization participation | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOM, IOC, ITU, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer) | Caricom (associate), CDB, Interpol (subbureau), IOC, OECS, UNESCO (associate), UPU |
| Irrigated land | NA sq km | NA |
| Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Court of Appeal; magistrates courts | Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, consisting of the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal (one judge of the Supreme Court is a resident of the islands and presides over the High Court); Magistrate's Court; Juvenile Court; Court of Summary Jurisdiction |
| Labor force | 156,000 (1999) | 12,770 (2004) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 5%, industry 5%, tourism 50%, other services 40% (1999 est.) | agriculture: 0.6%
industry: 40% services: 59.4% (2005) |
| Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
| Land use | arable land: 0.8%
permanent crops: 0.4% other: 98.8% (2001) |
arable land: 20%
permanent crops: 6.67% other: 73.33% (2005) |
| Languages | English (official), Creole (among Haitian immigrants) | English (official) |
| Legal system | based on English common law | English law |
| 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); the government may dissolve the parliament and call elections at any time
elections: last held 1 May 2002 (next to be held by May 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - PLP 50.8%, FNM 41.1%, independents 5.2%; seats by party - PLP 29, FNM 7, independents 4 |
unicameral House of Assembly (13 elected seats and 1 non-voting ex officio member in the attorney general; members are elected by direct popular vote, 1 member from each of nine electoral districts, 4 at-large members; to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 20 August 2007 (next to be held in 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - VIP 45.2%, NDP 39.6%, independent 15.2%; seats by party - VIP 10, NDP 2, independent 1 |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 65.63 years
male: 62.21 years female: 69.11 years (2004 est.) |
total population: 76.86 years
male: 75.71 years female: 78.07 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.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97.8% (1991 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
| Location | Caribbean, chain of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of Florida, northeast of Cuba | Caribbean, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico |
| Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Central America and the Caribbean |
| Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
territorial sea: 3 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
| Merchant marine | total: 1,035 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 31,631,252 GRT/43,025,977 DWT
by type: bulk 165, cargo 188, chemical tanker 45, combination bulk 10, combination ore/oil 17, container 97, liquefied gas 27, livestock carrier 2, multi-functional large load carrier 4, passenger 108, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 163, refrigerated cargo 133, roll on/roll off 34, short-sea/passenger 18, specialized tanker 3, vehicle carrier 20 foreign-owned: Algeria 1, Australia 7, Belgium 14, Bermuda 1, Canada 4, Chile 1, China 4, Croatia 1, Cuba 3, Cyprus 14, Denmark 49, Estonia 1, Faroe Islands 1, Finland 9, France 21, Germany 13, Gibraltar 1, Greece 163, Hong Kong 9, India 1, Indonesia 3, Ireland 1, Israel 3, Italy 7, Japan 35, Kenya 2, South Korea 1, Latvia 1, Liberia 1, Malaysia 11, Malta 1, Monaco 68, Netherlands 29, New Zealand 1, Norway 231, Panama 2, Philippines 3, Poland 14, Reunion 1, Russia 1, Saudi Arabia 9, Singapore 13, Slovenia 1, Spain 6, Sweden 9, Switzerland 1, Thailand 1, Trinidad and Tobago 2 registered in other countries: 11 (2004 est.) |
- |
| Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the UK |
| Military branches | Royal Bahamas Defense Force (including Coast Guard) | - |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | NA | - |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA | - |
| National holiday | Independence Day, 10 July (1973) | Territory Day, 1 July (1956) |
| Nationality | noun: Bahamian(s)
adjective: Bahamian |
noun: British Virgin Islander(s)
adjective: British Virgin Islander |
| Natural hazards | hurricanes and other tropical storms cause extensive flood and wind damage | hurricanes and tropical storms (July to October) |
| Natural resources | salt, aragonite, timber, arable land | NEGL |
| Net migration rate | -2.2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 8.83 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Political parties and leaders | Free National Movement or FNM [Tommy TURNQUEST]; Progressive Liberal Party or PLP [Perry CHRISTIE] | Concerned Citizens Movement or CCM [Ethlyn SMITH]; National Democratic Party or NDP [Orlando SMITH]; United Party or UP [Gregory MADURO]; Virgin Islands Party or VIP [Ralph T. O'NEAL] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
| Population | 299,697
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 2004 est.) |
23,552 (July 2007 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | NA | NA% |
| Population growth rate | 0.72% (2004 est.) | 1.923% (2007 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Freeport, Matthew Town, Nassau | - |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 3, FM 5, shortwave 0 (2004) | AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 0 (2004) |
| Religions | Baptist 32%, Anglican 20%, Roman Catholic 19%, Methodist 6%, Church of God 6%, other Protestant 12%, none or unknown 3%, other 2% | Protestant 86% (Methodist 33%, Anglican 17%, Church of God 9%, Seventh-Day Adventist 6%, Baptist 4%, Jehovah's Witnesses 2%, other 15%), Roman Catholic 10%, other 2%, none 2% (1991) |
| Sex ratio | at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.031 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.055 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.105 male(s)/female total population: 1.053 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
| Telephone system | general assessment: modern facilities
domestic: totally automatic system; highly developed international: country code - 1-242; tropospheric scatter and submarine cable to Florida; 3 coaxial submarine cables; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (1997) |
general assessment: worldwide telephone service
domestic: NA international: country code - 1-284; connected via submarine cable to Bermuda; the East Caribbean Fiber System (ECFS) optic submarine cable provides connectivity to 13 other islands in the eastern Caribbean (2007) |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 131,700 (2003) | 11,700 (2002) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 121,800 (2002) | 8,000 (2002) |
| Television broadcast stations | 2 (2004) | 1 (plus 1 cable company) (1997) |
| Terrain | long, flat coral formations with some low rounded hills | coral islands relatively flat; volcanic islands steep, hilly |
| Total fertility rate | 2.23 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 1.72 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 6.9% (2001 est.) | 3.6% (1997) |
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