Bahamas, The (2005) | French Guiana (2004) | |
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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 department of France) |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 27.9% (male 42,142/female 42,096)
15-64 years: 65.9% (male 97,865/female 101,047) 65 years and over: 6.2% (male 7,616/female 11,024) (2005 est.) |
0-14 years: 29.6% (male 28,959; female 27,657)
15-64 years: 64.5% (male 66,388; female 57,020) 65 years and over: 5.9% (male 5,736; female 5,549) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | citrus, vegetables; poultry | corn, rice, manioc (tapioca), sugar, cocoa, vegetables, bananas; cattle, pigs, poultry |
Airports | 63 (2004 est.) | 11 (2003 est.) |
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: 4
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
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: 7
914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 5 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 13,940 sq km
land: 10,070 sq km water: 3,870 sq km |
total: 91,000 sq km
land: 89,150 sq km water: 1,850 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Connecticut | slightly smaller than Indiana |
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 settled by the French in 1604, French Guiana was the site of notorious penal settlements until 1951. The European Space Agency launches its communication satellites from Kourou. |
Birth rate | 17.87 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 21 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $1 billion
expenditures: $1 billion, including capital expenditures of $106.7 million (FY03/04) |
revenues: $225 million
expenditures: $390 million, including capital expenditures of $105 million (1996) |
Capital | Nassau | Cayenne |
Climate | tropical marine; moderated by warm waters of Gulf Stream | tropical; hot, humid; little seasonal temperature variation |
Coastline | 3,542 km | 378 km |
Constitution | 10 July 1973 | 28 September 1958 (French Constitution) |
Country name | conventional long form: Commonwealth of The Bahamas
conventional short form: The Bahamas |
conventional long form: Department of Guiana
conventional short form: French Guiana local long form: none local short form: Guyane |
Currency | - | euro (EUR) |
Death rate | 8.97 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 4.82 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $308.5 million (2002) | $1.2 billion (1988) |
Dependency status | - | overseas department of France |
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 department of France) |
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 department of France) |
Disputes - international | have not been able to agree on the alignment of a maritime boundary with the US; continues to monitor and interdict Haitian refugees fleeing economic privation and political instability | Suriname claims area between Riviere Litani and Riviere Marouini (both headwaters of the Lawa) |
Economic aid - recipient | $9.8 million (1995) | NA (1995) |
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 is tied closely to the larger French economy through subsidies and imports. Besides the French space center at Kourou (which accounts for 25% of GDP), fishing and forestry are the most important economic activities. Forest and woodland cover 90% of the country. The large reserves of tropical hardwoods, not fully exploited, support an expanding sawmill industry that provides sawn logs for export. Cultivation of crops is limited to the coastal area, where the population is largely concentrated; rice and manioc are the major crops. French Guiana is heavily dependent on imports of food and energy. Unemployment is a serious problem, particularly among younger workers. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.596 billion kWh (2002) | 423.2 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 1.716 billion kWh (2002) | 455 million kWh (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Alvernia, on Cat Island 63 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Bellevue de l'Inini 851 m |
Environment - current issues | coral reef decay; solid waste disposal | NA |
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 or mulatto 66%, white 12%, East Indian, Chinese, Amerindian 12%, other 10% |
Exchange rates | Bahamian dollars per US dollar - 1 (2004), 1 (2003), 1 (2002), 1 (2001), 1 (2000) | Euros per US dollar - 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999) |
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: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Ange MANCINI (since 31 July 2002)
head of government: President of the General Council Joseph HO-TEN-YOU (since 26 March 2001); President of the Regional Council Antoine KARAM (since 22 March 1992) cabinet: NA elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of Interior; presidents of the General and Regional Councils are appointed by the members of those councils |
Exports | transhipments of 29,000 bbl/day (2003) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | mineral products and salt, animal products, rum, chemicals; fruit and vegetables | shrimp, timber, gold, rum, rosewood essence, clothing |
Exports - partners | US 40.2%, Poland 13.3%, Spain 11.6%, Germany 5.9%, France 4.3% (2004) | France 62%, Switzerland 7%, US 2% (2001) |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of aquamarine (top), gold, and aquamarine, with a black equilateral triangle based on the hoist side | the flag of France is used |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $1.551 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 3%
industry: 7% services: 90% (2001 est.) |
agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: NA (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $17,700 (2004 est.) | purchasing power parity - $8,300 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3% (2004 est.) | NA |
Geographic coordinates | 24 15 N, 76 00 W | 4 00 N, 53 00 W |
Geography - note | strategic location adjacent to US and Cuba; extensive island chain of which 30 are inhabited | mostly an unsettled wilderness; the only non-independent portion of the South American continent |
Heliports | 1 (2004 est.) | - |
Highways | total: 2,693 km
paved: 1,546 km unpaved: 1,147 km (1999 est.) |
total: 722 km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: 27% (2000) |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for cocaine and marijuana bound for US and Europe; offshore financial center | small amount of marijuana grown for local consumption; minor transshipment point to Europe |
Imports | NA | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, manufactures, chemicals, mineral fuels; food and live animals | food (grains, processed meat), machinery and transport equipment, fuels and chemicals |
Imports - partners | US 22.4%, South Korea 18.9%, Brazil 9.2%, Japan 7.9%, Italy 7.8%, Venezuela 6.6% (2004) | France 63%, US, Trinidad and Tobago, Italy (2002 est.) |
Independence | 10 July 1973 (from UK) | none (overseas department of France) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | NA |
Industries | tourism, banking, cement, oil transshipment, salt, rum, aragonite, pharmaceuticals, spiral-welded steel pipe | construction, shrimp processing, forestry products, rum, gold mining |
Infant mortality rate | total: 25.21 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 31.02 deaths/1,000 live births female: 19.28 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
total: 12.46 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 13.3 deaths/1,000 live births female: 11.58 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.2% (year ending September 2004) | 1.5% (2002 est.) |
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) | UPU, WCL, WFTU |
Irrigated land | NA | 20 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Court of Appeal; magistrates courts | Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel (highest local court based in Martinique with jurisdiction over Martinique, Guadeloupe, and French Guiana) |
Labor force | 156,000 (1999) | 58,800 (1997) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 5%, industry 5%, tourism 50%, other services 40% (1999 est.) | agriculture 18.2%, industry 21.2%, services, government, and commerce 60.6% (1980) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 1,183 km
border countries: Brazil 673 km, Suriname 510 km |
Land use | arable land: 0.8%
permanent crops: 0.4% other: 98.8% (2001) |
arable land: 0.14%
permanent crops: 0.05% other: 99.81% (90% forest, 10% other) (2001) |
Languages | English (official), Creole (among Haitian immigrants) | French |
Legal system | based on English common law | French legal system |
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 General Council or Conseil General (19 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and a unicameral Regional Council or Conseil Regional (31 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: General Council - last held NA March 2000 (next to be held NA 2006); Regional Council - last held 15 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PSG 5, various left-wing parties 5, independents 7, other 2; Regional Council - percent of vote by party - PS 28.28%, various left parties 22.56%, RPR 15.91%, independents 8.6%, Walwari Committee 6%; seats by party - PS 11, various left parties 9, RPR 6, independents 3, Walwari Committee 2 note: one seat was elected to the French Senate on 27 September 1998 (next to be held NA September 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; 2 seats were elected to the French National Assembly on 9 June-16 June 2002 (next to be held NA 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - UMP/RPR 1, Walwari Committee 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 65.54 years
male: 62.11 years female: 69.04 years (2005 est.) |
total population: 76.89 years
male: 73.57 years female: 80.38 years (2004 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: 83% male: 84% female: 82% (1982 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, chain of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of Florida, northeast of Cuba | Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Brazil and Suriname |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | South America |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total: 1,119
by type: barge carrier 2, bulk carrier 183, cargo 259, chemical tanker 54, combination ore/oil 17, container 74, liquefied gas 28, livestock carrier 2, passenger 116, passenger/cargo 40, petroleum tanker 168, refrigerated cargo 130, roll on/roll off 20, specialized tanker 2, vehicle carrier 24 foreign-owned: 968 (Angola 4, Australia 4, Belgium 17, Canada 9, China 3, Croatia 1, Cuba 1, Cyprus 13, Denmark 18, Estonia 1, Finland 7, France 28, Germany 15, Greece 194, Hong Kong 11, Indonesia 2, Ireland 1, Israel 1, Italy 7, Japan 49, Jordan 2, Kenya 1, Latvia 1, Malaysia 12, Monaco 15, Netherlands 24, New Zealand 1, Nigeria 2, Norway 229, Poland 13, Reunion 1, Russia 2, Saudi Arabia 12, Serbia & Montenegro 2, Singapore 11, Slovenia 1, South Korea 1, Spain 6, Sweden 9, Switzerland 4, Thailand 1, Trinidad & Tobago 2, Turkey 7, UAE 12, United Kingdom 55, United States 154, Uruguay 2) registered in other countries: 35 (2005) |
- |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of France |
Military branches | Royal Bahamaian Defense Force (naval forces) (2004) | no regular military forces; Gendarmerie |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | NA | NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA | NA |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 52,294 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 33,914 (2004 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 10 July (1973) | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) |
Nationality | noun: Bahamian(s)
adjective: Bahamian |
noun: French Guianese (singular and plural)
adjective: French Guianese |
Natural hazards | hurricanes and other tropical storms cause extensive flood and wind damage | high frequency of heavy showers and severe thunderstorms; flooding |
Natural resources | salt, aragonite, timber, arable land | bauxite, timber, gold (widely scattered), petroleum, kaolin, fish, niobium, tantalum, clay |
Net migration rate | -2.18 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 6.27 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Free National Movement or FNM [Tommy TURNQUEST]; Progressive Liberal Party or PLP [Perry CHRISTIE] | Guyanese Democratic Action or ADG [Andre LECANTE]; Guyanese Socialist Party or PSG [Marie-Claude VERDAN]; Guyana Democratic Forces or FDG [Georges OTHILY]; Popular National Guyanese Party or PNPG [Jose DORCY]; Socialist Party or PS [Paul DEBRIETTE]; Union for a Popular Movement or UMP [Muriel ICARE]; Walwari Committee (aligned with the PRG in France) [Christine TAUBIRA-DELANON] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 301,790
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 2005 est.) |
191,309 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | NA |
Population growth rate | 0.67% (2005 est.) | 2.25% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Freeport, Nassau, South Riding Point | Cayenne, Degrad des Cannes, Saint-Laurent du Maroni |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 3, FM 5, shortwave 0 (2004) | AM 2, FM 14 (including 6 repeaters), shortwave 6 (including 5 repeaters) (1998) |
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) | Roman Catholic |
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 (2005 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.16 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.03 male(s)/female total population: 1.12 male(s)/female (2004 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: NA
domestic: fair open-wire and microwave radio relay system international: country code - 594; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 131,700 (2003) | 51,000 (2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 121,800 (2002) | 138,200 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (2004) | 3 (plus eight low-power repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | long, flat coral formations with some low rounded hills | low-lying coastal plains rising to hills and small mountains |
Total fertility rate | 2.2 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 3.05 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 10.2% (2004 est.) | 22% (2001) |
Waterways | - | 3,760 km
note: 460 km navigable by small oceangoing vessels and coastal and river steamers, 3,300 km by native craft (2004) |