Compare Bahamas, The (2007) - Namibia (2006)

Compare Bahamas, The (2007) z Namibia (2006)

	Bahamas, The (2007)	Namibia (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	13 regions; Caprivi, Erongo, Hardap, Karas, Khomas, Kunene, Ohangwena, Okavango, Omaheke, Omusati, Oshana, Oshikoto, Otjozondjupa
Age structure	0-14 years: 27% (male 41,268/female 41,186) 15-64 years: 66.5% (male 99,961/female 103,230) 65 years and over: 6.5% (male 8,176/female 11,834) (2007 est.)	0-14 years: 38.2% (male 393,878/female 387,147) 15-64 years: 58.1% (male 596,557/female 591,350) 65 years and over: 3.7% (male 34,245/female 40,970) (2006 est.)
Agriculture - products	citrus, vegetables; poultry	millet, sorghum, peanuts, grapes; livestock; fish
Airports	62 (2007)	137 (2006)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 24 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 12 914 to 1,523 m: 7 (2007)	total: 21 over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 13 914 to 1,523 m: 3 (2006)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 38 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 22 (2007)	total: 116 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 22 914 to 1,523 m: 72 under 914 m: 20 (2006)
Area	total: 13,940 sq km land: 10,070 sq km water: 3,870 sq km	total: 825,418 sq km land: 825,418 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than Connecticut	slightly more than half the size of Alaska
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 Europe, and its territory is used for smuggling illegal migrants into the US.	South Africa occupied the German colony of South-West Africa during World War I and administered it as a mandate until after World War II, when it annexed the territory. In 1966 the Marxist South-West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) guerrilla group launched a war of independence for the area that was soon named Namibia, but it was not until 1988 that South Africa agreed to end its administration in accordance with a UN peace plan for the entire region. Namibia won its independence in 1990 and has been governed by SWAPO since. Hifikepunye POHAMBA was elected president in November 2004 in a landslide victory replacing Sam NUJOMA who led the country during its first 14 years of self rule.
Birth rate	17.3 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)	24.32 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Budget	revenues: $1.03 billion expenditures: $1.03 billion (FY04/05)	revenues: $1.945 billion expenditures: $2.039 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (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 second Sunday in March; ends first Sunday in November	name: Windhoek geographic coordinates: 22 34 S, 17 06 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins first Sunday in September; ends first Sunday in April
Climate	tropical marine; moderated by warm waters of Gulf Stream	desert; hot, dry; rainfall sparse and erratic
Coastline	3,542 km	1,572 km
Constitution	10 July 1973	ratified 9 February 1990, effective 12 March 1990
Country name	conventional long form: Commonwealth of The Bahamas conventional short form: The Bahamas	conventional long form: Republic of Namibia conventional short form: Namibia local long form: Republic of Namibia local short form: Namibia former: German Southwest Africa, South-West Africa
Death rate	9.13 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)	18.86 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Debt - external	$342.6 million (2004 est.)	$712.9 million (2005 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Ned L. SIEGEL 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, 356-3229 (after hours) FAX: [1] (242) 356-0222	chief of mission: Ambassador Joyce BARR embassy: Ausplan Building, 14 Lossen Street, Windhoek mailing address: Private Bag 12029 Ausspannplatz, Windhoek telephone: [264] (61) 221601 FAX: [264] (61) 229792
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 Patrick NANDAGO chancery: 1605 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 986-0540 FAX: [1] (202) 986-0443
Disputes - international	disagrees with the US on the alignment of a potential maritime boundary; continues to monitor and interdict drug dealers and Haitian refugees in Bahamian waters	border commission has yet to resolve small residual disputes with Botswana along the Caprivi Strip, including the Situngu marshlands along the Linyanti River; Botswana residents protest Namibia's planned construction of the Okavango hydroelectric dam on Popa Falls; managed dispute with South Africa over the location of the boundary in the Orange River; Namibia has supported and in 2004 Zimbabwe dropped objections to plans between Botswana and Zambia to build a bridge over the Zambezi River, thereby de facto recognizing a short, but not clearly delimited, Botswana-Zambia boundary in the river
Economic aid - recipient	$4.78 million (2004)	ODA, $160 million (2000 est.)
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.	The economy is heavily dependent on the extraction and processing of minerals for export. Mining accounts for 20% of GDP. Rich alluvial diamond deposits make Namibia a primary source for gem-quality diamonds. Namibia is the fourth-largest exporter of nonfuel minerals in Africa, the world's fifth-largest producer of uranium, and the producer of large quantities of lead, zinc, tin, silver, and tungsten. The mining sector employs only about 3% of the population while about half of the population depends on subsistence agriculture for its livelihood. Namibia normally imports about 50% of its cereal requirements; in drought years food shortages are a major problem in rural areas. A high per capita GDP, relative to the region, hides the world's worst inequality of income distribution. The Namibian economy is closely linked to South Africa with the Namibian dollar pegged one-to-one to the South African rand. Privatization of several enterprises in coming years may stimulate long-run foreign investment. Increased fish production and mining of zinc, copper, uranium, and silver spurred growth in 2003-05.
Electricity - consumption	1.762 billion kWh (2005)	2.372 billion kWh (2003)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2005)	55 million kWh (2003)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2005)	1.065 billion kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2003)
Electricity - production	1.894 billion kWh (2005)	1.464 billion kWh (2003)
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: Konigstein 2,606 m
Environment - current issues	coral reef decay; solid waste disposal	very limited natural fresh water resources; desertification; wildlife poaching; land degradation has led to few conservation areas
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: Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Ethnic groups	black 85%, white 12%, Asian and Hispanic 3%	black 87.5%, white 6%, mixed 6.5% note: about 50% of the population belong to the Ovambo tribe and 9% to the Kavangos tribe; other ethnic groups includes Herero 7%, Damara 7%, Nama 5%, Caprivian 4%, Bushmen 3%, Baster 2%, Tswana 0.5%
Exchange rates	Bahamian dollars per US dollar - 1 (2006), 1 (2005), 1 (2004), 1 (2003), 1 (2002)	Namibian dollars per US dollar - 6.3593 (2005), 6.4597 (2004), 7.5648 (2003), 10.5407 (2002), 8.6092 (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 Hubert A. INGRAHAM (since 4 May 2007) 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 Hifikepunye POHAMBA (since 21 March 2005) head of government: Prime Minister Nahas ANGULA (since 21 March 2005) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president from among the members of the National Assembly elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 15 November 2004 (next to be held November 2009) election results: Hifikepunye POHAMBA elected president; percent of vote - Hifikepunye POHAMBA 76.4%, Den ULENGA 7.3%, Katuutire KAURA 5.1%, Kuaima RIRUAKO 4.2%, Justus GAROEB 3.8%, other 3.2%
Exports	transshipments of 41,290 bbl/day (2004)	NA bbl/day
Exports - commodities	mineral products and salt, animal products, rum, chemicals, fruit and vegetables	diamonds, copper, gold, zinc, lead, uranium; cattle, processed fish, karakul skins
Exports - partners	Spain 23.8%, US 21.1%, Poland 14.4%, Germany 7.3%, UK 6.1%, Guatemala 5.2% (2006)	South Africa 33.4%, US 4% (2004)
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	a large blue triangle with a yellow sunburst fills the upper left section and an equal green triangle (solid) fills the lower right section; the triangles are separated by a red stripe that is contrasted by two narrow white-edge borders
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 3% industry: 7% services: 90% (2001 est.)	agriculture: 9.7% industry: 31.5% services: 58.8% (2005 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	4% (2006 est.)	3.2% (2005 est.)
Geographic coordinates	24 15 N, 76 00 W	22 00 S, 17 00 E
Geography - note	strategic location adjacent to US and Cuba; extensive island chain of which 30 are inhabited	first country in the world to incorporate the protection of the environment into its constitution; some 14% of the land is protected, including virtually the entire Namib Desert coastal strip
Heliports	1 (2007)	-
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: 27% (2000)	lowest 10%: NA% 0.5% highest 10%: NA% 64.5%
Illicit drugs	transshipment point for cocaine and marijuana bound for US and Europe; offshore financial center	-
Imports	NA bbl/day	12,770 bbl/day NA bbl/day
Imports - commodities	machinery and transport equipment, manufactures, chemicals, mineral fuels; food and live animals	foodstuffs; petroleum products and fuel, machinery and equipment, chemicals
Imports - partners	US 24.5%, Brazil 15.6%, Japan 13%, South Korea 7.8%, Spain 7.1% (2006)	South Africa 85.2%, US (2004)
Independence	10 July 1973 (from UK)	21 March 1990 (from South African mandate)
Industrial production growth rate	NA%	NA%
Industries	tourism, banking, cement, oil transshipment, salt, rum, aragonite, pharmaceuticals, spiral-welded steel pipe	meatpacking, fish processing, dairy products; mining (diamonds, lead, zinc, tin, silver, tungsten, uranium, copper)
Infant mortality rate	total: 24.17 deaths/1,000 live births male: 29.58 deaths/1,000 live births female: 18.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)	total: 48.1 deaths/1,000 live births male: 51.99 deaths/1,000 live births female: 44.09 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	1.2% (2004)	2.3% (2005 est.)
International organization participation	ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITSO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)	ACP, AfDB, AU, C, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NAM, ONUB, OPCW, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO
Irrigated land	10 sq km (2003)	80 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch	Privy Council (London); Courts of Appeal; Supreme (lower) Court; magistrates courts	Supreme Court (judges appointed by the president on the recommendation of the Judicial Service Commission)
Labor force	176,300 (2004)	820,000 (2005 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture 5%, industry 5%, tourism 50%, other services 40% (2005 est.)	agriculture: 47% industry: 20% services: 33% (1999 est.)
Land boundaries	0 km	total: 3,936 km border countries: Angola 1,376 km, Botswana 1,360 km, South Africa 967 km, Zambia 233 km
Land use	arable land: 0.58% permanent crops: 0.29% other: 99.13% (2005)	arable land: 0.99% permanent crops: 0.01% other: 99% (2005)
Languages	English (official), Creole (among Haitian immigrants)	English 7% (official), Afrikaans common language of most of the population and about 60% of the white population, German 32%, indigenous languages (Oshivambo, Herero, Nama)
Legal system	based on English common law	based on Roman-Dutch law and 1990 constitution
Legislative branch	bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (16 seats; members appointed by the governor general upon the advice of the prime minister and the opposition leader to serve five-year terms) and the House of Assembly (41 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 2 May 2007 (next to be called by May 2012) election results: percent of vote by party - FNM 49.86%, PLP 47.02%; seats by party - FNM 23, PLP 18	bicameral legislature consists of the National Council (26 seats; 2 members are chosen from each regional council to serve six-year terms) and the National Assembly (72 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: National Council - elections for regional councils, to determine members of the National Council, held 29-30 November 2004 (next to be held November 2010); National Assembly - last held 15-16 November 2004 (next to be held November 2009) election results: National Council - percent of vote by party - SWAPO 89.7%, UDF 4.7%, NUDO 2.8%, DTA 1.9%; seats by party - SWAPO 24, UDF 1, DTA 1; National Assembly - percent of vote by party - SWAPO 75.1%, COD 7.2%, DTA 5%, NUDO 4.1%, UDF 3.5%, RP 1.9%, MAG 0.8%; seats by party - SWAPO 55, COD 5, DTA 4, NUDO 3, UDF 3, RP 1, MAG 1 note: the National Council is primarily an advisory body
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 65.66 years male: 62.37 years female: 69.02 years (2007 est.)	total population: 43.39 years male: 44.46 years female: 42.29 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: 84% male: 84.4% female: 83.7% (2003 est.)
Location	Caribbean, chain of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of Florida, northeast of Cuba	Southern Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Angola and South Africa
Map references	Central America and the Caribbean	Africa
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Merchant marine	total: 1,213 ships (1000 GRT or over) 40,403,455 GRT/54,276,183 DWT by type: barge carrier 1, bulk carrier 225, cargo 240, chemical tanker 84, combination ore/oil 13, container 72, liquefied gas 49, livestock carrier 2, passenger 117, passenger/cargo 34, petroleum tanker 196, refrigerated cargo 118, roll on/roll off 18, specialized tanker 4, specialized tanker 1, vehicle carrier 39 foreign-owned: 1,134 (Angola 6, Australia 3, Belgium 15, Bermuda 12, Brazil 1, Canada 13, China 9, Croatia 1, Cuba 1, Cyprus 20, Denmark 66, Finland 8, France 43, Germany 40, Greece 214, Hong Kong 3, Iceland 1, Indonesia 3, Ireland 2, Italy 1, Japan 62, Jordan 2, Kenya 1, Malaysia 11, Monaco 11, Montenegro 2, Netherlands 24, Nigeria 2, Norway 232, Philippines 1, Poland 15, Russia 5, Saudi Arabia 15, Singapore 9, Slovenia 1, South Africa 1, Spain 11, Sweden 5, Switzerland 2, Taiwan 1, Thailand 1, Trinidad and Tobago 1, Turkey 5, UAE 20, UK 68, US 162, Uruguay 1, Venezuela 1) registered in other countries: 3 (Barbados 1, Panama 2) (2007)	total: 1 ship (1000 GRT or over) 2,265 GRT/3,605 DWT by type: cargo 1 (2006)
Military branches	Royal Bahamian Defense Force: Land Force, Navy, Air Wing (2007)	Namibian Defense Force: Army, Air Wing, Navy (2006)
Military expenditures - dollar figure	-	$149.5 million (2005 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	0.5% (2006)	2.3% (2005 est.)
National holiday	Independence Day, 10 July (1973)	Independence Day, 21 March (1990)
Nationality	noun: Bahamian(s) adjective: Bahamian	noun: Namibian(s) adjective: Namibian
Natural hazards	hurricanes and other tropical storms cause extensive flood and wind damage	prolonged periods of drought
Natural resources	salt, aragonite, timber, arable land	diamonds, copper, uranium, gold, lead, tin, lithium, cadmium, zinc, salt, hydropower, fish note: suspected deposits of oil, coal, and iron ore
Net migration rate	-2.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)	0.47 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]	Congress of Democrats or COD [Ben ULENGA]; Democratic Turnhalle Alliance of Namibia or DTA [Katuutire KAURA, president]; Monitor Action Group or MAG [Jurie VILJOEN]; South West Africa People's Organization or SWAPO [Sam Shafishuna NUJOMA]; United Democratic Front or UDF [Justus GAROEB]; Republican Party or RP [Henk MUDGE]; National Unity Democratic Organization or NUDO [Kuaima RIRUAKO]
Political pressure groups and leaders	NA	NA
Population	305,655 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 2007 est.)	2,044,147 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.)
Population below poverty line	9.3% (2004)	the UNDP's 2005 Human Development Report indicated that 34.9% of the population live on $1 per day and 55.8% live on $2 per day
Population growth rate	0.602% (2007 est.)	0.59% (2006 est.)
Radio broadcast stations	AM 3, FM 5, shortwave 0 (2006)	AM 2, FM 39, shortwave 4 (2001)
Railways	-	total: 2,382 km narrow gauge: 2,382 km 1.067-m gauge (2005)
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)	Christian 80% to 90% (Lutheran 50% at least), indigenous beliefs 10% to 20%
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.002 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.968 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.691 male(s)/female total population: 0.956 male(s)/female (2007 est.)	at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.84 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 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; the Bahamas Domestic Submarine Network links 14 of the islands and is designed to satisfy increasing demand for voice and broadband internet services international: country code - 1-242; landing point for the Americas Region Caribbean Ring System (ARCOS-1) fiber-optic submarine cable that provides links to South and Central America, parts of the Caribbean, and the US; satellite earth station - 2 (2007)	general assessment: good system; about 6 telephones for each 100 persons domestic: good urban services; fair rural service; microwave radio relay links major towns; connections to other populated places are by open wire; 100% digital international: country code - 264; fiber-optic cable to South Africa, microwave radio relay link to Botswana, direct links to other neighboring countries; connected to Africa ONE and South African Far East (SAFE) submarine cables through South Africa; satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat (2002)
Telephones - main lines in use	133,100 (2005)	127,900 (2004)
Telephones - mobile cellular	227,800 (2005)	495,000 (2005)
Television broadcast stations	2 (2006)	8 (plus about 20 low-power repeaters) (1997)
Terrain	long, flat coral formations with some low rounded hills	mostly high plateau; Namib Desert along coast; Kalahari Desert in east
Total fertility rate	2.15 children born/woman (2007 est.)	3.06 children born/woman (2006 est.)
Unemployment rate	10.2% (2005 est.)	35% (1998)

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