Bahamas, The (2008) | Niue (2003) | |
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; note - there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 14 villages at the second order |
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: NA%
15-64 years: NA% 65 years and over: NA% (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | citrus, vegetables; poultry | coconuts, passion fruit, honey, limes, taro, yams, cassava (tapioca), sweet potatoes; pigs, poultry, beef cattle |
Airports | 62 (2007) | 1 (2002) |
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: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 38
1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 22 (2007) |
- |
Area | total: 13,940 sq km
land: 10,070 sq km water: 3,870 sq km |
total: 260 sq km
land: 260 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Connecticut | 1.5 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 Europe, and its territory is used for smuggling illegal migrants into the US. | Niue's remoteness, as well as cultural and linguistic differences between its Polynesian inhabitants and those of the rest of the Cook Islands, have caused it to be separately administered. The population of the island continues to drop (from a peak of 5,200 in 1966 to about 2,100 in 2002), with substantial emigration to New Zealand, 2,400 km to the southwest. |
Birth rate | 17.3 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | NA births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $1.03 billion
expenditures: $1.03 billion (FY04/05) |
revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA |
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 |
Alofi |
Climate | tropical marine; moderated by warm waters of Gulf Stream | tropical; modified by southeast trade winds |
Coastline | 3,542 km | 64 km |
Constitution | 10 July 1973 | 19 October 1974 (Niue Constitution Act) |
Country name | conventional long form: Commonwealth of The Bahamas
conventional short form: The Bahamas |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Niue former: Savage Island |
Currency | - | New Zealand dollar (NZD) |
Death rate | 9.13 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | NA deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $342.6 million (2004 est.) | $418,000 (2002 est.) |
Dependency status | - | self-governing in free association with New Zealand since 1974; Niue fully responsible for internal affairs; New Zealand retains responsibility for external affairs and defense; however, these responsibilities confer no rights of control and are only exercised at the request of the Government of Niue |
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 |
none (self-governing territory in free association with New Zealand) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Cornelius A. SMITH
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 (self-governing territory in free association with New Zealand) |
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 | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $4.78 million (2004) | $2.6 million from New Zealand (2002) |
Economy - overview | The Bahamas is one of the wealthiest Caribbean countries 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 tourist arrivals have been on the decline since 2006. Financial services constitute the second-most important sector of the Bahamian economy and, when combined with business services, account for about 36% 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 combined 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. Tourism, in turn, depends on growth in the US, the source of more than 80% of the visitors. | The economy suffers from the typical Pacific island problems of geographic isolation, few resources, and a small population. Government expenditures regularly exceed revenues, and the shortfall is made up by critically needed grants from New Zealand that are used to pay wages to public employees. Niue has cut government expenditures by reducing the public service by almost half. The agricultural sector consists mainly of subsistence gardening, although some cash crops are grown for export. Industry consists primarily of small factories to process passion fruit, lime oil, honey, and coconut cream. The sale of postage stamps to foreign collectors is an important source of revenue. The island in recent years has suffered a serious loss of population because of migration of Niueans to New Zealand. Efforts to increase GDP include the promotion of tourism and a financial services industry, although Premier LAKATANI announced in February 2002 that Niue will shut down the offshore banking industry. Economic aid from New Zealand in 2002 was about $2.6 million. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.762 billion kWh (2005) | 2.79 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 1.894 billion kWh (2005) | 3 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Alvernia, on Cat Island 63 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location near Mutalau settlement 68 m |
Environment - current issues | coral reef decay; solid waste disposal | increasing attention to conservationist practices to counter loss of soil fertility from traditional slash and burn agriculture |
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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | black 85%, white 12%, Asian and Hispanic 3% | Polynesian (with some 200 Europeans, Samoans, and Tongans) |
Exchange rates | Bahamian dollars per US dollar - 1 (2007), 1 (2006), 1 (2005), 1 (2004), 1 (2003) | New Zealand dollars per US dollar - 2.162 (2002), 2.3776 (2001), 2.1863 (2000), 1.8886 (1999), 1.8629 (1998) |
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: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); the UK and New Zealand are represented by New Zealand High Commissioner John BRYAN (since NA May 2000)
head of government: Premier Young VIVIAN (since 1 May 2002) cabinet: Cabinet consists of the premier and three ministers elections: the monarch is hereditary; premier elected by the Legislative Assembly for a three-year term; election last held 1 May 2002 (next to be held NA May 2005) election results: Young VIVIAN elected premier; percent of Legislative Assembly vote - Young VIVIAN (NPP) 70%, Hunukitama HUNUKI (AI) 30% |
Exports | transshipments of 41,290 bbl/day (2004) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | mineral products and salt, animal products, rum, chemicals, fruit and vegetables | canned coconut cream, copra, honey, vanilla, passion fruit products, pawpaws, root crops, limes, footballs, stamps, handicrafts |
Exports - partners | Spain 22.3%, US 19.8%, Poland 13.5%, Germany 13%, UK 5.7%, Guatemala 4.9% (2006) | NZ mainly, Fiji, Cook Islands, Australia (2000) |
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 | yellow with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant; the flag of the UK bears five yellow five-pointed stars - a large one on a blue disk in the center and a smaller one on each arm of the bold red cross |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $7.6 million (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 3%
industry: 7% services: 90% (2001 est.) |
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: 55% |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $3,600 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.8% (2007 est.) | -0.3% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 24 15 N, 76 00 W | 19 02 S, 169 52 W |
Geography - note | strategic location adjacent to US and Cuba; extensive island chain of which 30 are inhabited | one of world's largest coral islands |
Heliports | 1 (2007) | - |
Highways | - | total: 234 km
paved: 86 km unpaved: 148 km (2001) |
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 | - |
Imports | 68,250 bbl/day (2004) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, manufactures, chemicals, mineral fuels; food and live animals | food, live animals, manufactured goods, machinery, fuels, lubricants, chemicals, drugs |
Imports - partners | US 24.7%, Brazil 15.7%, Japan 13.1%, South Korea 7.8%, Spain 6.2% (2006) | NZ mainly, Fiji, Japan, Samoa, Australia, US (2000) |
Independence | 10 July 1973 (from UK) | on 19 October 1974, Niue became a self-governing parliamentary government in free association with New Zealand |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA% |
Industries | tourism, banking, cement, oil transshipment, salt, rum, aragonite, pharmaceuticals, spiral-welded steel pipe | tourism, handicrafts, food processing |
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: NA%
male: NA% female: NA% |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.4% (2007 est.) | 1% (1995) |
International organization participation | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITSO, ITU, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer) | ACP, ESCAP (associate), FAO, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UNESCO, WHO, WMO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 10 sq km (2003) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Privy Council (London); Courts of Appeal; Supreme (lower) Court; magistrates courts | Supreme Court of New Zealand; High Court of Niue |
Labor force | 181,900 (2006) | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 5%, industry 5%, tourism 50%, other services 40% (2005 est.) | most work on family plantations; paid work exists only in government service, small industry, and the Niue Development Board |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land: 0.58%
permanent crops: 0.29% other: 99.13% (2005) |
arable land: 19.23%
permanent crops: 7.69% other: 73.08% (1998 est.) |
Languages | English (official), Creole (among Haitian immigrants) | Niuean, a Polynesian language closely related to Tongan and Samoan; English |
Legal system | based on English common law | English common law
note: Niue is self-governing, with the power to make its own laws |
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 |
unicameral Legislative Assembly (20 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms; six elected from a common roll and 14 are village representatives)
elections: last held 21 March 2002 (next to be held in March 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NPP 9, independents 11; note - all 20 seats were reelected |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 65.66 years
male: 62.37 years female: 69.02 years (2007 est.) |
total population: NA years
male: NA years female: NA years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 95.6% male: 94.7% female: 96.5% (2003 est.) |
definition: NA
total population: 95% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Caribbean, chain of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of Florida, northeast of Cuba | Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Tonga |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Oceania |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 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) |
none (2002 est.) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of New Zealand |
Military branches | Royal Bahamian Defense Force: Land Force, Navy, Air Wing (2007) | no regular indigenous military forces; Police Force |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.5% (2006) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 10 July (1973) | Waitangi Day (Treaty of Waitangi established British sovereignty over New Zealand), 6 February (1840) |
Nationality | noun: Bahamian(s)
adjective: Bahamian |
noun: Niuean(s)
adjective: Niuean |
Natural hazards | hurricanes and other tropical storms cause extensive flood and wind damage | typhoons |
Natural resources | salt, aragonite, timber, arable land | fish, arable land |
Net migration rate | -2.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | NA migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Free National Movement or FNM [Hubert INGRAHAM]; Progressive Liberal Party or PLP [Perry CHRISTIE] | Niue People's Action Party or NPP [Young VIVIAN]; Alliance of Independents or AI [leader NA] |
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.) |
2,145 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 9.3% (2004) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.602% (2007 est.) | 0.01% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | none; offshore anchorage only |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 3, FM 5, shortwave 0 (2006) | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) |
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) | Ekalesia Niue (Niuean Church - a Protestant church closely related to the London Missionary Society) 75%, Latter-Day Saints 10%, other 15% (mostly Roman Catholic, Jehovah's Witnesses, Seventh-Day Adventist) |
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.) |
NA (2003 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) |
domestic: single-line telephone system connects all villages on island
international: NA |
Telephones - main lines in use | 133,100 (2005) | 376 (1991) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 227,800 (2005) | 0 (1991) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (2006) | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | long, flat coral formations with some low rounded hills | steep limestone cliffs along coast, central plateau |
Total fertility rate | 2.15 children born/woman (2007 est.) | NA children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 7.6% (2006 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | - | none |