Compare British Virgin Islands (2008) - Bahamas, The (2008)

Compare British Virgin Islands (2008) z Bahamas, The (2008)

	British Virgin Islands (2008)	Bahamas, The (2008)

Administrative divisions	none (overseas territory of the UK)	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
Age structure	0-14 years: 20.2% (male 2,410/female 2,337) 15-64 years: 74.5% (male 9,004/female 8,534) 65 years and over: 5.4% (male 665/female 602) (2007 est.)	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.)
Agriculture - products	fruits, vegetables; livestock, poultry; fish	citrus, vegetables; poultry
Airports	3 (2007)	62 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2007)	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)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2007)	total: 38 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 22 (2007)
Area	total: 153 sq km land: 153 sq km water: 0 sq km note: comprised of 16 inhabited and more than 20 uninhabited islands; includes the islands of Tortola, Anegada, Virgin Gorda, Jost van Dyke	total: 13,940 sq km land: 10,070 sq km water: 3,870 sq km
Area - comparative	about 0.9 times the size of Washington, DC	slightly smaller than Connecticut
Background	First inhabited by Arawak and later by Carib Indians, the Virgin Islands were settled by the Dutch in 1648 and then annexed by the English in 1672. The islands were part of the British colony of the Leeward Islands from 1872-1960; they were granted autonomy in 1967. The economy is closely tied to the larger and more populous US Virgin Islands to the west; the US dollar is the legal currency.	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.
Birth rate	14.82 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)	17.3 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget	revenues: $204.7 million expenditures: $180.4 million (2004)	revenues: $1.03 billion expenditures: $1.03 billion (FY04/05)
Capital	name: Road Town geographic coordinates: 18 27 N, 64 37 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)	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
Climate	subtropical; humid; temperatures moderated by trade winds	tropical marine; moderated by warm waters of Gulf Stream
Coastline	80 km	3,542 km
Constitution	13 June 2007	10 July 1973
Country name	conventional long form: none conventional short form: British Virgin Islands abbreviation: BVI	conventional long form: Commonwealth of The Bahamas conventional short form: The Bahamas
Death rate	4.42 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)	9.13 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external	$36.1 million (1997)	$342.6 million (2004 est.)
Dependency status	overseas territory of the UK; internal self-governing	-
Diplomatic representation from the US	none (overseas territory of the UK)	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
Diplomatic representation in the US	none (overseas territory of the UK)	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
Disputes - international	none	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
Economic aid - recipient	$NA	$4.78 million (2004)
Economy - overview	The economy, one of the most stable and prosperous in the Caribbean, is highly dependent on tourism, generating an estimated 45% of the national income. An estimated 820,000 tourists, mainly from the US, visited the islands in 2005. In the mid-1980s, the government began offering offshore registration to companies wishing to incorporate in the islands, and incorporation fees now generate substantial revenues. Roughly 400,000 companies were on the offshore registry by yearend 2000. The adoption of a comprehensive insurance law in late 1994, which provides a blanket of confidentiality with regulated statutory gateways for investigation of criminal offenses, made the British Virgin Islands even more attractive to international business. Livestock raising is the most important agricultural activity; poor soils limit the islands' ability to meet domestic food requirements. Because of traditionally close links with the US Virgin Islands, the British Virgin Islands has used the US dollar as its currency since 1959.	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.
Electricity - consumption	41.85 million kWh (2005)	1.762 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2005)	0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2005)	0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - production	45 million kWh (2005)	1.894 billion kWh (2005)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Mount Sage 521 m	lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Alvernia, on Cat Island 63 m
Environment - current issues	limited natural fresh water resources (except for a few seasonal streams and springs on Tortola, most of the islands' water supply comes from wells and rainwater catchments)	coral reef decay; solid waste disposal
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 83%, other 17% (includes white, Indian, Asian and mixed)	black 85%, white 12%, Asian and Hispanic 3%
Exchange rates	the US dollar is used	Bahamian dollars per US dollar - 1 (2007), 1 (2006), 1 (2005), 1 (2004), 1 (2003)
Executive branch	chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor David PEAREY (since 18 April 2006) head of government: Premier Ralph T. O'NEAL (since 23 August 2007) cabinet: Executive Council appointed by the governor from members of the House of Assembly elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed premier by the governor	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
Exports	0 bbl/day (2004)	transshipments of 41,290 bbl/day (2004)
Exports - commodities	rum, fresh fish, fruits, animals; gravel, sand	mineral products and salt, animal products, rum, chemicals, fruit and vegetables
Exports - partners	Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US (2006)	Spain 22.3%, US 19.8%, Poland 13.5%, Germany 13%, UK 5.7%, Guatemala 4.9% (2006)
Fiscal year	1 April - 31 March	1 July - 30 June
Flag description	blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Virgin Islander coat of arms centered in the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms depicts a woman flanked on either side by a vertical column of six oil lamps above a scroll bearing the Latin word VIGILATE (Be Watchful)	three equal horizontal bands of aquamarine (top), gold, and aquamarine, with a black equilateral triangle based on the hoist side
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 1.8% industry: 6.2% services: 92% (1996 est.)	agriculture: 3% industry: 7% services: 90% (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	1% (2002 est.)	2.8% (2007 est.)
Geographic coordinates	18 30 N, 64 30 W	24 15 N, 76 00 W
Geography - note	strong ties to nearby US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico	strategic location adjacent to US and Cuba; extensive island chain of which 30 are inhabited
Heliports	-	1 (2007)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: 27% (2000)
Illicit drugs	transshipment point for South American narcotics destined for the US and Europe; large offshore financial center makes it vulnerable to money laundering	transshipment point for cocaine and marijuana bound for US and Europe; offshore financial center
Imports	604.3 bbl/day (2004)	68,250 bbl/day (2004)
Imports - commodities	building materials, automobiles, foodstuffs, machinery	machinery and transport equipment, manufactures, chemicals, mineral fuels; food and live animals
Imports - partners	Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US (2006)	US 24.7%, Brazil 15.7%, Japan 13.1%, South Korea 7.8%, Spain 6.2% (2006)
Independence	none (overseas territory of the UK)	10 July 1973 (from UK)
Industrial production growth rate	NA%	NA%
Industries	tourism, light industry, construction, rum, concrete block, offshore financial center	tourism, banking, cement, oil transshipment, salt, rum, aragonite, pharmaceuticals, spiral-welded steel pipe
Infant mortality rate	total: 16.13 deaths/1,000 live births male: 18.82 deaths/1,000 live births female: 13.29 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)	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.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	2% (2005)	2.4% (2007 est.)
International organization participation	Caricom (associate), CDB, Interpol (subbureau), IOC, OECS, UNESCO (associate), UPU	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)
Irrigated land	NA	10 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch	Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, consisting of the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal (one judge of the Supreme Court is a resident of the islands and presides over the High Court); Magistrate's Court; Juvenile Court; Court of Summary Jurisdiction	Privy Council (London); Courts of Appeal; Supreme (lower) Court; magistrates courts
Labor force	12,770 (2004)	181,900 (2006)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: 0.6% industry: 40% services: 59.4% (2005)	agriculture 5%, industry 5%, tourism 50%, other services 40% (2005 est.)
Land boundaries	0 km	0 km
Land use	arable land: 20% permanent crops: 6.67% other: 73.33% (2005)	arable land: 0.58% permanent crops: 0.29% other: 99.13% (2005)
Languages	English (official)	English (official), Creole (among Haitian immigrants)
Legal system	English law	based on English common law
Legislative branch	unicameral House of Assembly (13 elected seats and 1 non-voting ex officio member in the attorney general; members are elected by direct popular vote, 1 member from each of nine electoral districts, 4 at-large members; to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 20 August 2007 (next to be held in 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - VIP 45.2%, NDP 39.6%, independent 15.2%; seats by party - VIP 10, NDP 2, independent 1	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
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 76.86 years male: 75.71 years female: 78.07 years (2007 est.)	total population: 65.66 years male: 62.37 years female: 69.02 years (2007 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 97.8% (1991 est.) male: NA% female: NA%	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 95.6% male: 94.7% female: 96.5% (2003 est.)
Location	Caribbean, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico	Caribbean, chain of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of Florida, northeast of Cuba
Map references	Central America and the Caribbean	Central America and the Caribbean
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 3 nm exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm	territorial sea: 12 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)
Military - note	defense is the responsibility of the UK	-
Military branches	-	Royal Bahamian Defense Force: Land Force, Navy, Air Wing (2007)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	-	0.5% (2006)
National holiday	Territory Day, 1 July (1956)	Independence Day, 10 July (1973)
Nationality	noun: British Virgin Islander(s) adjective: British Virgin Islander	noun: Bahamian(s) adjective: Bahamian
Natural hazards	hurricanes and tropical storms (July to October)	hurricanes and other tropical storms cause extensive flood and wind damage
Natural resources	NEGL	salt, aragonite, timber, arable land
Net migration rate	8.83 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)	-2.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Political parties and leaders	Concerned Citizens Movement or CCM [Ethlyn SMITH]; National Democratic Party or NDP [Orlando SMITH]; United Party or UP [Gregory MADURO]; Virgin Islands Party or VIP [Ralph T. O'NEAL]	Free National Movement or FNM [Hubert INGRAHAM]; Progressive Liberal Party or PLP [Perry CHRISTIE]
Political pressure groups and leaders	NA	NA
Population	23,552 (July 2007 est.)	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.)
Population below poverty line	NA%	9.3% (2004)
Population growth rate	1.923% (2007 est.)	0.602% (2007 est.)
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 0 (2004)	AM 3, FM 5, shortwave 0 (2006)
Religions	Protestant 86% (Methodist 33%, Anglican 17%, Church of God 9%, Seventh-Day Adventist 6%, Baptist 4%, Jehovah's Witnesses 2%, other 15%), Roman Catholic 10%, other 2%, none 2% (1991)	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)
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.031 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.055 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.105 male(s)/female total population: 1.053 male(s)/female (2007 est.)	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.)
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal	18 years of age; universal
Telephone system	general assessment: worldwide telephone service domestic: NA international: country code - 1-284; connected via submarine cable to Bermuda; the East Caribbean Fiber System (ECFS) optic submarine cable provides connectivity to 13 other islands in the eastern Caribbean (2007)	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)
Telephones - main lines in use	11,700 (2002)	133,100 (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular	8,000 (2002)	227,800 (2005)
Television broadcast stations	1 (plus 1 cable company) (1997)	2 (2006)
Terrain	coral islands relatively flat; volcanic islands steep, hilly	long, flat coral formations with some low rounded hills
Total fertility rate	1.72 children born/woman (2007 est.)	2.15 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate	3.6% (1997)	7.6% (2006 est.)

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