Bahamas, The (2006) | Montserrat (2001) | |
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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 | 3 parishes; Saint Anthony, Saint Georges, Saint Peter's |
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:
23.83% (male 907; female 898) 15-64 years: 64.66% (male 2,341; female 2,556) 65 years and over: 11.51% (male 464; female 408) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | citrus, vegetables; poultry | cabbages, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, peppers; livestock products |
Airports | 64 (2006) | 1 (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 (2006) |
total:
1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 35
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 22 (2006) |
- |
Area | total: 13,940 sq km
land: 10,070 sq km water: 3,870 sq km |
total:
100 sq km land: 100 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Connecticut | about 0.6 times the size of Washington, DC |
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. | Much of this island has been devastated and two-thirds of the population has fled abroad due to the eruption of the Soufriere Hills volcano that began on 18 July 1995. |
Birth rate | 17.57 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 17.43 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $1.03 billion
expenditures: $1.03 billion; including capital expenditures of $130 million (FY04/05) |
revenues:
$31.4 million expenditures: $31.6 million, including capital expenditures of $8.4 million (1997 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 |
Plymouth (abandoned in 1997 due to volcanic activity; interim government buildings have been built at Brades, in the Carr's Bay/Little Bay vicinity at the northwest end of Montserrat) |
Climate | tropical marine; moderated by warm waters of Gulf Stream | tropical; little daily or seasonal temperature variation |
Coastline | 3,542 km | 40 km |
Constitution | 10 July 1973 | present constitution came into force 19 December 1989 |
Country name | conventional long form: Commonwealth of The Bahamas
conventional short form: The Bahamas |
conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Montserrat |
Currency | - | East Caribbean dollar (XCD) |
Death rate | 9.05 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 7.53 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $342.6 million (2004 est.) | $8.9 million (1997) |
Dependency status | - | overseas territory of the UK |
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 |
none (overseas territory of the UK) |
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 |
none (overseas territory of the UK) |
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 | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $5 million (2004) | $9.8 million (1995); note - about $100 million (1996-98) in reconstruction aid from the UK; Country Policy Plan (1999) is a three-year program for spending $122.8 million in British budgetary assistance |
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. | Severe volcanic activity, which began in July 1995, has put a damper on this small, open economy. A catastrophic eruption in June 1997 closed the airports and seaports, causing further economic and social dislocation. Two-thirds of the 12,000 inhabitants fled the island. Some began to return in 1998, but lack of housing limited the number. The agriculture sector continued to be affected by the lack of suitable land for farming and the destruction of crops. Prospects for the economy depend largely on developments in relation to the volcano and on public sector construction activity. The UK committed to a three year $125 million aid program in 1999 to help reconstruct the economy. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.683 billion kWh (2003) | 9.3 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2003) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2003) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 1.81 billion kWh (2003) | 10 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:
Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Chances Peak (in the Soufriere Hills) 914 m |
Environment - current issues | coral reef decay; solid waste disposal | land erosion occurs on slopes that have been cleared for cultivation |
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, white |
Exchange rates | Bahamian dollars per US dollar - 1 (2005), 1 (2004), 1 (2003), 1 (2002), 1 (2001) | East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7000 (fixed rate since 1976) |
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:
Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor Anthony John ABBOTT (since NA September 1997) head of government: Chief Minister David BRANDT (since 22 August 1997) cabinet: Executive Council consists of the governor, the chief minister, three other ministers, the attorney general, and the finance secretary elections: the monarch is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party usually becomes chief minister; note - as a result of the last election, a coalition party was formed between NPP, NDP, and one of the independent candidates |
Exports | transhipments of 29,000 bbl/day (2003) | $1.5 million (1998) |
Exports - commodities | mineral products and salt, animal products, rum, chemicals, fruit and vegetables | electronic components, plastic bags, apparel, hot peppers, live plants, cattle |
Exports - partners | US 31%, Spain 29.7%, Poland 9.3%, Germany 5.6%, Guatemala 4.1% (2005) | US, Antigua and Barbuda (1993) |
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 Montserratian coat of arms centered in the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms features a woman standing beside a yellow harp with her arm around a black cross |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $31 million (1999 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 3%
industry: 7% services: 90% (2001 est.) |
agriculture:
5.4% industry: 13.6% services: 81% (1996 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $5,000 (1999 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.7% (2005 est.) | -1.5% (1999 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 24 15 N, 76 00 W | 16 45 N, 62 12 W |
Geography - note | strategic location adjacent to US and Cuba; extensive island chain of which 30 are inhabited | - |
Heliports | 1 (2006) | - |
Highways | - | total:
269 km paved: 203 km unpaved: 66 km (1995) |
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 | transshipment point for South American narcotics destined for the US and Europe |
Imports | NA bbl/day | $26 million (1998) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, manufactures, chemicals, mineral fuels; food and live animals | machinery and transportation equipment, foodstuffs, manufactured goods, fuels, lubricants, and related materials |
Imports - partners | US 22.5%, South Korea 20.2%, Spain 7.8%, Brazil 7.1%, Italy 6.5%, Germany 5.4% (2005) | US, UK, Trinidad and Tobago, Japan, Canada (1993) |
Independence | 10 July 1973 (from UK) | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA% |
Industries | tourism, banking, cement, oil transshipment, salt, rum, aragonite, pharmaceuticals, spiral-welded steel pipe | tourism, rum, textiles, electronic appliances |
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.) |
8.19 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.2% ( 2004) | 5% (1998) |
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 | Caricom, CDB, ECLAC (associate), ICFTU, Interpol (subbureau), OECS, WCL |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 17 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 10 sq km (2003) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Privy Council (London); Courts of Appeal; Supreme (lower) Court; magistrates courts | Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (based in Saint Lucia, one judge of the Supreme Court is a resident of the islands and presides over the High Court) |
Labor force | 176,300 (2004) | 4,521 (1992); note - recently lowered by flight of people from volcanic activity |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 5%, industry 5%, tourism 50%, other services 40% (2005 est.) | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land: 0.58%
permanent crops: 0.29% other: 99.13% (2005) |
arable land:
20% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 10% forests and woodland: 40% other: 30% (1993 est.) |
Languages | English (official), Creole (among Haitian immigrants) | English |
Legal system | based on English common law | English common law and statutory 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 Legislative Council (11 seats, 7 popularly elected; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 11 November 1996 (next to be held by NA November 2001) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PPA 2, MNR 2, NPP 1, independent 2 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 65.6 years
male: 62.24 years female: 69.03 years (2006 est.) |
total population:
78.03 years male: 75.95 years female: 80.22 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 has ever attended school total population: 97% male: 97% female: 97% (1970 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, chain of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of Florida, northeast of Cuba | Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, southeast 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 |
exclusive fishing zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 3 NM |
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) |
none (2000 est.) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the UK |
Military branches | Royal Bahamian Defense Force: Marines, Air Wing (2006) | Police Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | NA | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 10 July (1973) | Birthday of Queen ELIZABETH II, second Saturday in June (1926) |
Nationality | noun: Bahamian(s)
adjective: Bahamian |
noun:
Montserratian(s) adjective: Montserratian |
Natural hazards | hurricanes and other tropical storms cause extensive flood and wind damage | severe hurricanes (June to November); volcanic eruptions (full-scale eruptions of the Soufriere Hills volcano occurred during 1996-97) |
Natural resources | salt, aragonite, timber, arable land | NEGL |
Net migration rate | -2.17 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 123.98 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Free National Movement or FNM [Hubert INGRAHAM]; Progressive Liberal Party or PLP [Perry CHRISTIE] | Movement for National Reconstruction or MNR [Percival Austin BRAMBLE]; National Development Party or NDP [leader NA]; National Progressive Party or NPP [Reuben T. MEADE]; People's Progressive Alliance or PPA [John A. OSBORNE] |
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.) |
7,574
note: an estimated 8,000 refugees left the island following the resumption of volcanic activity in July 1995; some have returned (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 9.3% (2004) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.64% (2006 est.) | 13.39% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Plymouth (abandoned), Little Bay (anchorages and ferry landing), Carr's Bay |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 3, FM 5, shortwave 0 (2006) | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | - | 7,000 (1997) |
Railways | - | 0 km |
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) | Anglican, Methodist, Roman Catholic, Pentecostal, Seventh-Day Adventist, other Christian denominations |
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:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.14 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 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 - 2 (2005) |
general assessment:
NA domestic: NA international: NA |
Telephones - main lines in use | 139,900 (2004) | 4,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 186,000 (2004) | 70 (1994) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (2006) | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | long, flat coral formations with some low rounded hills | volcanic islands, mostly mountainous, with small coastal lowland |
Total fertility rate | 2.18 children born/woman (2006 est.) | 1.82 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 10.2% (2005 est.) | 20% (1996 est.) |
Waterways | - | none |