Compare Bahamas, The (2006) - Iceland (2006)

Compare Bahamas, The (2006) z Iceland (2006)

	Bahamas, The (2006)	Iceland (2006)

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	8 regions; Austurland, Hofudhborgarsvaedhi, Nordhurland Eystra, Nordhurland Vestra, Sudhurland, Sudhurnes, Vestfirdhir, Vesturland
Age structure	0-14 years: 27.5% (male 41,799/female 41,733) 15-64 years: 66.1% (male 98,847/female 102,074) 65 years and over: 6.4% (male 7,891/female 11,426) (2006 est.)	0-14 years: 21.7% (male 33,021/female 32,021) 15-64 years: 66.5% (male 100,944/female 98,239) 65 years and over: 11.7% (male 15,876/female 19,287) (2006 est.)
Agriculture - products	citrus, vegetables; poultry	potatoes, green vegetables; mutton, dairy products; fish
Airports	64 (2006)	98 (2006)
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 (2006)	total: 5 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2006)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 35 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 22 (2006)	total: 93 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 29 under 914 m: 61 (2006)
Area	total: 13,940 sq km land: 10,070 sq km water: 3,870 sq km	total: 103,000 sq km land: 100,250 sq km water: 2,750 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than Connecticut	slightly smaller than Kentucky
Background	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 its territory is used for smuggling illegal migrants into the US.	Settled by Norwegian and Celtic (Scottish and Irish) immigrants during the late 9th and 10th centuries A.D., Iceland boasts the world's oldest functioning legislative assembly, the Althing, established in 930. Independent for over 300 years, Iceland was subsequently ruled by Norway and Denmark. Fallout from the Askja volcano of 1875 devastated the Icelandic economy and caused widespread famine. Over the next quarter century, 20% of the island's population emigrated, mostly to Canada and the US. Limited home rule from Denmark was granted in 1874 and complete independence attained in 1944. Literacy, longevity, income, and social cohesion are first-rate by world standards.
Birth rate	17.57 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)	13.64 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Budget	revenues: $1.03 billion expenditures: $1.03 billion; including capital expenditures of $130 million (FY04/05)	revenues: $6.995 billion expenditures: $6.761 billion; including capital expenditures of $467 million (2005 est.)
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 first Sunday in April; ends last Sunday in October	name: Reykjavik geographic coordinates: 64 09 N, 21 57 W time difference: UTC (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Climate	tropical marine; moderated by warm waters of Gulf Stream	temperate; moderated by North Atlantic Current; mild, windy winters; damp, cool summers
Coastline	3,542 km	4,970 km
Constitution	10 July 1973	16 June 1944, effective 17 June 1944; amended many times
Country name	conventional long form: Commonwealth of The Bahamas conventional short form: The Bahamas	conventional long form: Republic of Iceland conventional short form: Iceland local long form: Lydveldid Island local short form: Island
Death rate	9.05 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)	6.72 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Debt - external	$342.6 million (2004 est.)	$3.073 billion (2002)
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; US 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 Carol VAN VOORST embassy: Laufasvegur 21, 101 Reykjavik mailing address: US Department of State, 5640 Reykjavik Place, Washington, D.C. 20521-5640 telephone: [354] 562-9100 FAX: [354] 562-9118
Diplomatic representation in the US	chief of mission: vacant chancery: 2220 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 319-2660 FAX: [1] (202) 319-2668 consulate(s) general: Miami, New York	chief of mission: Ambassador Helgi AGUSTSSON chancery: Suite 1200, 1156 15th Street NW, Washington, DC 20005-1704 telephone: [1] (202) 265-6653 FAX: [1] (202) 265-6656 consulate(s) general: New York
Disputes - international	disagrees with the US on the alignment of the maritime boundary; continues to monitor and interdict Haitian refugees fleeing economic privation and political instability	Iceland disputes Denmark's alignment of the Faroe Islands' fisheries median line; Iceland, the UK, and Ireland dispute Denmark's claim that the Faroe Islands' continental shelf extends beyond 200 nm
Economic aid - donor	-	$6.7 million $NA
Economic aid - recipient	$5 million (2004)	-
Economy - overview	The Bahamas is a stable, developing nation 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 the slowdown in the US economy and the attacks of 11 September 2001 held back growth in these sectors in 2001-03. The current government has presided over a period of economic recovery and an upturn in large-scale private sector investments in tourism. 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.	Iceland's Scandinavian-type economy is basically capitalistic, yet with an extensive welfare system (including generous housing subsidies), low unemployment, and remarkably even distribution of income. In the absence of other natural resources (except for abundant geothermal power), the economy depends heavily on the fishing industry, which provides 70% of export earnings and employs 4% of the work force. The economy remains sensitive to declining fish stocks as well as to fluctuations in world prices for its main exports: fish and fish products, aluminum, and ferrosilicon. Government policies include reducing the current account deficit, limiting foreign borrowing, containing inflation, revising agricultural and fishing policies, and diversifying the economy. The government remains opposed to EU membership, primarily because of Icelanders' concern about losing control over their fishing resources. Iceland's economy has been diversifying into manufacturing and service industries in the last decade, and new developments in software production, biotechnology, and financial services are taking place. The tourism sector is also expanding, with the recent trends in ecotourism and whale watching. Growth had been remarkably steady in 1996-2001 at 3%-5%, but could not be sustained in 2002 in an environment of global recession. Growth resumed in 2003, and estimates call for strong growth until 2007, slowly dropping until the end of the decade.
Electricity - consumption	1.683 billion kWh (2003)	8.619 billion kWh (2004)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2003)	0 kWh (2003)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2003)	0 kWh (2003)
Electricity - production	1.81 billion kWh (2003)	8.619 billion kWh (2004)
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: Hvannadalshnukur 2,110 m (at Vatnajokull glacier)
Environment - current issues	coral reef decay; solid waste disposal	water pollution from fertilizer runoff; inadequate wastewater treatment
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: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Kyoto Protocol, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Transboundary Air Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Marine Life Conservation
Ethnic groups	black 85%, white 12%, Asian and Hispanic 3%	homogeneous mixture of descendants of Norse and Celts 94%, population of foreign origin 6%
Exchange rates	Bahamian dollars per US dollar - 1 (2005), 1 (2004), 1 (2003), 1 (2002), 1 (2001)	Icelandic kronur per US dollar - 62.982 (2005), 70.192 (2004), 76.709 (2003), 91.662 (2002), 97.425 (2001)
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 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 Olafur Ragnar GRIMSSON (since 1 August 1996) head of government: Prime Minister Geir H. HAARDE (since 7 June 2006) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister elections: president, largely a ceremonial post, is elected by popular vote for a four-year term (no term limits); election last held 26 June 2004 (next to be held June 2008); following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually the prime minister election results: Olafur Ragnar GRIMSSON 85.6%, Baldur AGUSTSSON 12.5%, Astthor MAGNUSSON 1.9%
Exports	transhipments of 29,000 bbl/day (2003)	0 bbl/day (2001)
Exports - commodities	mineral products and salt, animal products, rum, chemicals, fruit and vegetables	fish and fish products 70%, aluminum, animal products, ferrosilicon, diatomite
Exports - partners	US 31%, Spain 29.7%, Poland 9.3%, Germany 5.6%, Guatemala 4.1% (2005)	UK 17.9%, Germany 16.4%, Netherlands 13%, US 8.1%, Spain 7.7%, Denmark 4.3% (2005)
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	blue with a red cross outlined in white extending to the edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side in the style of the Dannebrog (Danish flag)
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 3% industry: 7% services: 90% (2001 est.)	agriculture: 8.6% industry: 15% services: 76.5% (2005 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	3.7% (2005 est.)	5.6% (2005 est.)
Geographic coordinates	24 15 N, 76 00 W	65 00 N, 18 00 W
Geography - note	strategic location adjacent to US and Cuba; extensive island chain of which 30 are inhabited	strategic location between Greenland and Europe; westernmost European country; Reykjavik is the northernmost national capital in the world; more land covered by glaciers than in all of continental Europe
Heliports	1 (2006)	-
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: 27%	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
Illicit drugs	transshipment point for cocaine and marijuana bound for US and Europe; offshore financial center	-
Imports	NA bbl/day	15,470 bbl/day (2001)
Imports - commodities	machinery and transport equipment, manufactures, chemicals, mineral fuels; food and live animals	machinery and equipment, petroleum products, foodstuffs, textiles
Imports - partners	US 22.5%, South Korea 20.2%, Spain 7.8%, Brazil 7.1%, Italy 6.5%, Germany 5.4% (2005)	Germany 13.4%, US 9.1%, Sweden 8.6%, Denmark 7.3%, Norway 7.2%, UK 5.9%, China 5.3%, Netherlands 5%, Japan 4.7% (2005)
Independence	10 July 1973 (from UK)	1 December 1918 (became a sovereign state under the Danish Crown); 17 June 1944 (from Denmark)
Industrial production growth rate	NA%	14.2% (2005 est.)
Industries	tourism, banking, cement, oil transshipment, salt, rum, aragonite, pharmaceuticals, spiral-welded steel pipe	fish processing; aluminum smelting, ferrosilicon production; geothermal power, tourism
Infant mortality rate	total: 24.68 deaths/1,000 live births male: 30.29 deaths/1,000 live births female: 18.96 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)	total: 3.29 deaths/1,000 live births male: 3.43 deaths/1,000 live births female: 3.14 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	1.2% ( 2004)	4% (2005 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, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer), WToO	Arctic Council, Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CE, EAPC, EBRD, EFTA, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NATO, NC, NEA, NIB, OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WCO, WEU (associate), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Irrigated land	10 sq km (2003)	NA
Judicial branch	Privy Council (London); Courts of Appeal; Supreme (lower) Court; magistrates courts	Supreme Court or Haestirettur (justices are appointed for life by the Minister of Justice); eight district courts (justices are appointed for life by the Minister of Justice)
Labor force	176,300 (2004)	165,900 (2005 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture 5%, industry 5%, tourism 50%, other services 40% (2005 est.)	agriculture: 10.3% industry: 18.3% services: 71.4% (2003)
Land boundaries	0 km	0 km
Land use	arable land: 0.58% permanent crops: 0.29% other: 99.13% (2005)	arable land: 0.07% permanent crops: 0% other: 99.93% (2005)
Languages	English (official), Creole (among Haitian immigrants)	Icelandic, English, Nordic languages, German widely spoken
Legal system	based on English common law	civil law system based on Danish law; 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 Parliament or Althing (63 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 10 May 2003 (next to be held by May 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - Independence Party 33.7%, Social Democratic Alliance 31%, Progressive Party 17.7%, Left-Green Movement 8.8%, Liberal Party 7.4%; seats by party - Independence Party 22, Social Democratic Alliance 20, Progressive Party 12, Left-Green Alliance 5, Liberal Party 4
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 65.6 years male: 62.24 years female: 69.03 years (2006 est.)	total population: 80.31 years male: 78.23 years female: 82.48 years (2006 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: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (2003 est.)
Location	Caribbean, chain of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of Florida, northeast of Cuba	Northern Europe, island between the Greenland Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, northwest of the UK
Map references	Central America and the Caribbean	Arctic Region
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
Merchant marine	total: 1,177 ships (1000 GRT or over) 37,743,270 GRT/50,918,747 DWT by type: barge carrier 1, bulk carrier 253, cargo 250, chemical tanker 64, container 79, liquefied gas 35, livestock carrier 2, passenger 115, passenger/cargo 34, petroleum tanker 175, refrigerated cargo 114, roll on/roll off 20, specialized tanker 5, vehicle carrier 30 foreign-owned: 1,093 (Angola 5, Australia 2, Belgium 13, Canada 18, China 3, Cuba 1, Cyprus 13, Denmark 59, Estonia 1, Finland 8, France 37, Germany 22, Greece 232, Hong Kong 8, Iceland 1, India 1, Indonesia 4, Ireland 2, Israel 1, Italy 5, Japan 51, Jordan 2, Kenya 1, Latvia 1, Malaysia 12, Monaco 17, Montenegro 2, Netherlands 24, Nigeria 2, Norway 259, Philippines 1, Poland 15, Reunion 1, Russia 6, Saudi Arabia 12, Singapore 12, Slovenia 1, Spain 12, Sweden 6, Switzerland 2, Thailand 1, Turkey 8, UAE 16, UK 69, Uruguay 2, US 121, Venezuela 1) registered in other countries: 4 (Barbados 1, Liberia 1, Panama 2) (2006)	total: 1 ship (1000 GRT or over) 3,354 GRT/480 DWT by type: passenger/cargo 1 registered in other countries: 34 (Antigua and Barbuda 8, Bahamas 1, Belize 2, Faroe Islands 4, Gibraltar 1, Malta 4, Norway 4, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 10) (2006)
Military - note	-	under a 1951 bilateral agreement, Iceland's defense was provided by a US-manned Icelandic Defense Force (IDF) headquartered in Keflavik; in October 2006, all US military forces in Iceland were withdrawn; nonetheless, the US and Iceland signed a Joint Understanding to strengthen their bilateral defense relationship, including regular security consultations, military communications in the event of national emergencies, annual bilateral exercises on Icelandic territory, and future bilateral and NATO support to four Iceland Air Defense System (IADS) radar sites
Military branches	Royal Bahamian Defense Force: Marines, Air Wing (2006)	no regular armed forces; Icelandic National Police, Icelandic Coast Guard (Islenska Landhelgisgaeslan) subordinate to Ministry of Justice, Icelandic Crisis Response Unit (2006)
Military expenditures - dollar figure	NA	0
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	NA	0%
National holiday	Independence Day, 10 July (1973)	Independence Day, 17 June (1944)
Nationality	noun: Bahamian(s) adjective: Bahamian	noun: Icelander(s) adjective: Icelandic
Natural hazards	hurricanes and other tropical storms cause extensive flood and wind damage	earthquakes and volcanic activity
Natural resources	salt, aragonite, timber, arable land	fish, hydropower, geothermal power, diatomite
Net migration rate	-2.17 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)	1.74 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Political parties and leaders	Free National Movement or FNM [Hubert INGRAHAM]; Progressive Liberal Party or PLP [Perry CHRISTIE]	Independence Party or IP [Geir HAARDE]; Left-Green Movement or LGM [Steingrimur SIGFUSSON]; Liberal Party or LP [Gudjon KRISTJANSSON]; Progressive Party or PP [Halldor ASGRIMSSON - will step down in August 2006]; Social Democratic Alliance (includes People's Alliance or PA, Social Democratic Party or SDP, Women's List) or SDA [Ingibjorg Solrun GISLADOTTIR]
Political pressure groups and leaders	NA	NA
Population	303,770 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 2006 est.)	299,388 (July 2006 est.)
Population below poverty line	9.3% (2004)	NA%
Population growth rate	0.64% (2006 est.)	0.87% (2006 est.)
Radio broadcast stations	AM 3, FM 5, shortwave 0 (2006)	AM 3, FM about 70 (including repeaters), shortwave 1 (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)	Lutheran Church of Iceland 85.5%, Reykjavik Free Church 2.1%, Roman Catholic Church 2%, Hafnarfjorour Free Church 1.5%, other Christian 2.7%, other or unspecified 3.8%, unaffiliated 2.4% (2004)
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 (2006 est.)	at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.82 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2006 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 - 2 (2005)	general assessment: extensive domestic service domestic: the trunk network consists of coaxial and fiber-optic cables and microwave radio relay links international: country code - 354; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean), 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions); note - Iceland shares the Inmarsat earth station with the other Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden)
Telephones - main lines in use	139,900 (2004)	193,900 (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular	186,000 (2004)	304,000 (2005)
Television broadcast stations	2 (2006)	14 (plus 156 low-power repeaters) (1997)
Terrain	long, flat coral formations with some low rounded hills	mostly plateau interspersed with mountain peaks, icefields; coast deeply indented by bays and fiords
Total fertility rate	2.18 children born/woman (2006 est.)	1.92 children born/woman (2006 est.)
Unemployment rate	10.2% (2005 est.)	2.1% (2005 est.)

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