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Compare Bahamas, The (2005) - Sierra Leone (2001)
Compare Bahamas, The (2005) z Sierra Leone (2001)
| Bahamas, The (2005) | Sierra Leone (2001) | |
 |  | |
| 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 | 3 provinces and 1 area*; Eastern, Northern, Southern, Western* |
| 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:
44.73% (male 1,190,207; female 1,237,326) 15-64 years: 52.12% (male 1,351,455; female 1,477,155) 65 years and over: 3.15% (male 84,364; female 86,111) (2001 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | citrus, vegetables; poultry | rice, coffee, cocoa, palm kernels, palm oil, peanuts; poultry, cattle, sheep, pigs; fish |
| Airports | 63 (2004 est.) | 11 (2000 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:
1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2000 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:
10 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
| Area | total: 13,940 sq km
land: 10,070 sq km water: 3,870 sq km |
total:
71,740 sq km land: 71,620 sq km water: 120 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Connecticut | slightly smaller than South Carolina |
| 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. | Since 1991, civil war between the government and the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of more than 2 million people (well over one-third of the population) many of whom are now refugees in neighboring countries. A peace agreement, signed in July 1999, collapsed in May 2000 after the RUF took over 500 UN peacekeepers hostage. The RUF stepped up attacks on Guinea in December 2000, despite a cease-fire that it signed with the Freetown government one month earlier. As of late 2000, up to 13,000 UN peacekeepers were protecting the capital and key towns in the south. A UK force of 750 was helping to reinforce security and train the Sierra Leone army. |
| Birth rate | 17.87 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 45.11 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $1 billion
expenditures: $1 billion, including capital expenditures of $106.7 million (FY03/04) |
revenues:
$96 million expenditures: $351 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
| Capital | Nassau | Freetown |
| Climate | tropical marine; moderated by warm waters of Gulf Stream | tropical; hot, humid; summer rainy season (May to December); winter dry season (December to April) |
| Coastline | 3,542 km | 402 km |
| Constitution | 10 July 1973 | 1 October 1991; subsequently amended several times |
| Country name | conventional long form: Commonwealth of The Bahamas
conventional short form: The Bahamas |
conventional long form:
Republic of Sierra Leone conventional short form: Sierra Leone |
| Currency | - | leone (SLL) |
| Death rate | 8.97 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 19.19 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Debt - external | $308.5 million (2002) | $1.28 billion (1999) |
| 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 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Joseph H. MELROSE, Jr. embassy: Corner of Walpole and Siaka Stevens Streets, Freetown mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [232] (22) 226481 through 226485 FAX: [232] (22) 225471 |
| 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 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador John Ernest LEIGH chancery: 1701 19th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 939-9261 through 9263 FAX: [1] (202) 483-1793 |
| 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 | civil war has engendered massive refugee movements into neighboring Guinea and Liberia |
| Economic aid - recipient | $9.8 million (1995) | $203.7 million (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. | Sierra Leone is an extremely poor African nation with tremendous inequality in income distribution. It does have substantial mineral, agricultural, and fishery resources. However, the economic and social infrastructure is not well developed, and serious social disorders continue to hamper economic development. About two-thirds of the working-age population engages in subsistence agriculture. Manufacturing consists mainly of the processing of raw materials and of light manufacturing for the domestic market. Bauxite and rutile mines have been shut down by civil strife. The major source of hard currency is found in the mining of diamonds, the large majority of which are smuggled out of the country. The resurgence of internal warfare in 1999 brought another substantial drop in GDP, with GNP recovering part of the way in 2000. The fate of the economy depends upon the maintenance of domestic peace and the continued receipt of substantial aid from abroad. |
| Electricity - consumption | 1.596 billion kWh (2002) | 223.2 million kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - production | 1.716 billion kWh (2002) | 240 million kWh (1999) |
| 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:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Loma Mansa (Bintimani) 1,948 m |
| Environment - current issues | coral reef decay; solid waste disposal | rapid population growth pressuring the environment; overharvesting of timber, expansion of cattle grazing, and slash-and-burn agriculture have resulted in deforestation and soil exhaustion; civil war depleting natural resources; overfishing |
| 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 |
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
| Ethnic groups | black 85%, white 12%, Asian and Hispanic 3% | 20 native African tribes 90% (Temne 30%, Mende 30%, other 30%), Creole 10% (descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area in the late-18th century), refugees from Liberia's recent civil war, small numbers of Europeans, Lebanese, Pakistanis, and Indians |
| Exchange rates | Bahamian dollars per US dollar - 1 (2004), 1 (2003), 1 (2002), 1 (2001), 1 (2000) | leones per US dollar - 1,653.39 (January 2001), 2,092.13 (2000), 1,804.20 (1999), 1,563.62 (1998), 981.48 (1997), 920.73 (1996) |
| 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 Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (since 29 March 1996, reinstated 10 March 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (since 29 March 1996, reinstated 10 March 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Ministers of State appointed by the president with the approval of the House of Representatives; the cabinet is responsible to the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election held 26-27 February and 15 March 1996 (next to be held NA September 2001); note - president's tenure of office is limited to two five-year terms election results: Ahmad Tejan KABBAH elected president; percent of vote - Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (SLPP) 59.5%, John KAREFA-SMART (UNPP) 40.5% |
| Exports | transhipments of 29,000 bbl/day (2003) | $65 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
| Exports - commodities | mineral products and salt, animal products, rum, chemicals; fruit and vegetables | diamonds, rutile, cocoa, coffee, fish |
| Exports - partners | US 40.2%, Poland 13.3%, Spain 11.6%, Germany 5.9%, France 4.3% (2004) | Belgium 38%, US 6%, Italy 4%, UK 4% (1999) |
| 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 | three equal horizontal bands of light green (top), white, and light blue |
| GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $2.7 billion (2000 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 3%
industry: 7% services: 90% (2001 est.) |
agriculture:
43% industry: 26% services: 31% (1999) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $17,700 (2004 est.) | purchasing power parity - $510 (2000 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 3% (2004 est.) | 4.2% (2000 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 24 15 N, 76 00 W | 8 30 N, 11 30 W |
| Geography - note | strategic location adjacent to US and Cuba; extensive island chain of which 30 are inhabited | - |
| Heliports | 1 (2004 est.) | 1 (2000 est.) |
| Highways | total: 2,693 km
paved: 1,546 km unpaved: 1,147 km (1999 est.) |
total:
11,300 km paved: 904 km unpaved: 10,396 km (1997) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: 27% (2000) |
lowest 10%:
0.5% highest 10%: 43.6% (1989) |
| Illicit drugs | transshipment point for cocaine and marijuana bound for US and Europe; offshore financial center | - |
| Imports | NA | $145 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
| Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, manufactures, chemicals, mineral fuels; food and live animals | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels and lubricants, chemicals |
| Imports - partners | US 22.4%, South Korea 18.9%, Brazil 9.2%, Japan 7.9%, Italy 7.8%, Venezuela 6.6% (2004) | UK 34%, US 8%, Italy 7%, Nigeria 5% (1999) |
| Independence | 10 July 1973 (from UK) | 27 April 1961 (from UK) |
| Industrial production growth rate | NA | NA% |
| Industries | tourism, banking, cement, oil transshipment, salt, rum, aragonite, pharmaceuticals, spiral-welded steel pipe | mining (diamonds); small-scale manufacturing (beverages, textiles, cigarettes, footwear); petroleum refining |
| 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.) |
146.52 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.2% (year ending September 2004) | 15% (2000 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) | ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
| Irrigated land | NA | 290 sq km (1993 est.) |
| Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Court of Appeal; magistrates courts | Supreme Court; Appeals Court; High Court |
| Labor force | 156,000 (1999) | 1.369 million (1981 est.)
note: only about 65,000 wage earners (1985) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 5%, industry 5%, tourism 50%, other services 40% (1999 est.) | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% |
| Land boundaries | 0 km | total:
958 km border countries: Guinea 652 km, Liberia 306 km |
| Land use | arable land: 0.8%
permanent crops: 0.4% other: 98.8% (2001) |
arable land:
7% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 31% forests and woodland: 28% other: 33% (1993 est.) |
| Languages | English (official), Creole (among Haitian immigrants) | English (official, regular use limited to literate minority), Mende (principal vernacular in the south), Temne (principal vernacular in the north), Krio (English-based Creole, spoken by the descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area, a lingua franca and a first language for 10% of the population but understood by 95%) |
| Legal system | based on English common law | based on English law and customary laws indigenous to local tribes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
| 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 Representatives (80 seats - 68 elected by popular vote, 12 filled by paramount chiefs elected in separate elections; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 26-27 February 1996 (next to be held NA 2001) election results: percent of vote by party - SLPP 36.1%, UNPP 21.6%, PDP 15.3%, APC 5.7%, NUP 5.3%, DCP 4.8%, other 11.2%; seats by party - SLPP 27, UNPP 17, PDP 12, APC 5, NUP 4, DCP 3; note - first elections since the former House of Representatives was shut down by the military coup of 29 April 1992 |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 65.54 years
male: 62.11 years female: 69.04 years (2005 est.) |
total population:
45.6 years male: 42.69 years female: 48.61 years (2001 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 English, Mende, Temne, or Arabic total population: 31.4% male: 45.4% female: 18.2% (1995 est.) |
| Location | Caribbean, chain of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of Florida, northeast of Cuba | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Liberia |
| Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Africa |
| Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
territorial sea:
200 NM continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
| 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) |
total:
1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,057 GRT/3,498 DWT ships by type: cargo 1 (2000 est.) |
| Military branches | Royal Bahamaian Defense Force (naval forces) (2004) | Army |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | NA | $46 million (FY96/97) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA | 2% (FY96/97) |
| Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
1,161,790 (2001 est.) |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
563,631 (2001 est.) |
| National holiday | Independence Day, 10 July (1973) | Independence Day, 27 April (1961) |
| Nationality | noun: Bahamian(s)
adjective: Bahamian |
noun:
Sierra Leonean(s) adjective: Sierra Leonean |
| Natural hazards | hurricanes and other tropical storms cause extensive flood and wind damage | dry, sand-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to February); sandstorms, dust storms |
| Natural resources | salt, aragonite, timber, arable land | diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold, chromite |
| Net migration rate | -2.18 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 10.23 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)
note: by the end of 1999 refugees from Sierra Leone are assumed to be returning |
| Political parties and leaders | Free National Movement or FNM [Tommy TURNQUEST]; Progressive Liberal Party or PLP [Perry CHRISTIE] | All People's Congress or APC [Edward Mohammed TURAY, chairman]; Democratic Centre Party or DCP [Adu Aiah KOROMA]; National Democratic Alliance or NDA [Amadu M. B. JALLOH]; National Republican Party or NRP [Sahr Stephen MAMBU]; National Unity Party or NUP [Dr. John KARIMU, chairman]; People's Democratic Party or PDP [Thaimu BANGURA, chairman]; People's Progressive Party or PPP [Abass Chernok BUNDU, chairman]; Revolutionary United Front Party or RUFP [Foday SANKOH, chairman]; Sierra Leone People's Party or SLPP [President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH, chairman]; United National People's Party or UNPP [John KARIFA-SMART in exile, Raymond KAMARA, acting leader] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Trade Unions and Student Unions |
| 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.) |
5,426,618 (July 2001 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | NA | 68% (1989 est.) |
| Population growth rate | 0.67% (2005 est.) | 3.61% (2001 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Freeport, Nassau, South Riding Point | Bonthe, Freetown, Pepel |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 3, FM 5, shortwave 0 (2004) | AM 1, FM 9, shortwave 1 (1999) |
| Radios | - | 1.12 million (1997) |
| Railways | - | total:
84 km used on a limited basis because the mine at Marampa is closed narrow gauge: 84 km 1.067-m gauge |
| 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) | Muslim 60%, indigenous beliefs 30%, Christian 10% |
| 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:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.98 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2001 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:
marginal telephone and telegraph service domestic: national microwave radio relay trunk system, made unserviceable by military activities, is now operating from Freetown to Bo and Kenema (April 2001) international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 131,700 (2003) | 17,000 (1997) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 121,800 (2002) | 650 (1999) |
| Television broadcast stations | 2 (2004) | 2 (1999) |
| Terrain | long, flat coral formations with some low rounded hills | coastal belt of mangrove swamps, wooded hill country, upland plateau, mountains in east |
| Total fertility rate | 2.2 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 6.01 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 10.2% (2004 est.) | NA% |
| Waterways | - | 800 km (of which 600 km navigable year round) |
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