Cayman Islands (2003) | Sudan (2001) | |
Administrative divisions | 8 districts; Creek, Eastern, Midland, South Town, Spot Bay, Stake Bay, West End, Western | 26 states (wilayat, singular - wilayah); A'ali an Nil, Al Bahr al Ahmar, Al Buhayrat, Al Jazirah, Al Khartum, Al Qadarif, Al Wahdah, An Nil al Abyad, An Nil al Azraq, Ash Shamaliyah, Bahr al Jabal, Gharb al Istiwa'iyah, Gharb Bahr al Ghazal, Gharb Darfur, Gharb Kurdufan, Janub Darfur, Janub Kurdufan, Junqali, Kassala, Nahr an Nil, Shamal Bahr al Ghazal, Shamal Darfur, Shamal Kurdufan, Sharq al Istiwa'iyah, Sinnar, Warab |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 21.6% (male 4,525; female 4,541)
15-64 years: 70.6% (male 14,463; female 15,157) 65 years and over: 7.7% (male 1,515; female 1,733) (2003 est.) |
0-14 years:
44.62% (male 8,227,011; female 7,870,783) 15-64 years: 53.29% (male 9,619,218; female 9,608,469) 65 years and over: 2.09% (male 425,898; female 328,994) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | vegetables, fruit; livestock, turtle farming | cotton, groundnuts (peanuts), sorghum, millet, wheat, gum arabic, sugarcane, cassara, mangos, papaya, bananas, sweet potatoes, sesame; sheep, livestock |
Airports | 3 (2002) | 61 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (2002) |
total:
12 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002) |
total:
49 1,524 to 2,437 m: 15 914 to 1,523 m: 25 under 914 m: 9 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 262 sq km
land: 262 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total:
2,505,810 sq km land: 2.376 million sq km water: 129,810 sq km |
Area - comparative | 1.5 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly more than one-quarter the size of the US |
Background | The Cayman Islands were colonized from Jamaica by the British during the 18th and 19th centuries. Administered by Jamaica since 1863, they remained a British dependency after 1962 when the former became independent. | Military dictatorships promulgating an Islamic government have mostly run the country since independence from the UK in 1956. Over the past two decades, a civil war pitting black Christians and animists in the south against the Arab-Muslims of the north has cost at least 1.5 million lives in war- and famine-related deaths, as well as the displacement of millions of others. |
Birth rate | 13.33 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 37.89 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $265.2 million
expenditures: $248.9 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997) |
revenues:
$1.2 billion expenditures: $1.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | George Town | Khartoum |
Climate | tropical marine; warm, rainy summers (May to October) and cool, relatively dry winters (November to April) | tropical in south; arid desert in north; rainy season (April to October) |
Coastline | 160 km | 853 km |
Constitution | 1959, revised 1972 and 1992 | 12 April 1973, suspended following coup of 6 April 1985; interim constitution of 10 October 1985 suspended following coup of 30 June 1989; new constitution implemented on 30 June 1998 partially suspended 12 December 1999 by President BASHIR |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Cayman Islands |
conventional long form:
Republic of the Sudan conventional short form: Sudan local long form: Jumhuriyat as-Sudan local short form: As-Sudan former: Anglo-Egyptian Sudan |
Currency | Caymanian dollar (KYD) | Sudanese dinar (SDD) |
Death rate | 4.7 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 10.04 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $70 million (1996) | $24.9 billion (2000 est.) |
Dependency status | overseas territory of the UK | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | US officials at the US Embassy in Khartoum were moved for security reasons in February 1996 and have been relocated to the US Embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Cairo, Egypt, from where they make periodic visits to Khartoum; the US Embassy in Khartoum is located on Sharia Abdul Latif Avenue; mailing address - P. O. Box 699, Khartoum; APO AE 09829; telephone - [249] (11) 774611 or 774700; FAX - [249] (11) 774137; the US Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya is located in the Interim Office Building on Mombasa Road, Nairobi; mailing address - P. O. Box 30137, Box 21A, Unit 64100, APO AE 09831; telephone - [254] (2) 751613; FAX - [254] (2) 743204; the US Embassy in Cairo, Egypt is located at (North Gate) 8, Kamel El-Din Salah Street, Garden City, Cairo; mailing address - Unit 64900, APO AE 09839-4900; telephone - [20] (2) 3557371; FAX - [20] (2) 3573200 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | chief of mission:
Ambassador Mahdi Ibrahim MAHAMMAD (recalled to Khartoum in August 1998) chancery: 2210 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 338-8565 FAX: [1] (202) 667-2406 |
Disputes - international | none | administrative boundary with Kenya does not coincide with international boundary; Egypt asserts its claim to the "Hala'ib Triangle," a barren area of 20,580 sq km under partial Sudanese administration that is defined by an administrative boundary which supersedes the treaty boundary of 1899 |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA | $187 million (1997) |
Economy - overview | With no direct taxation, the islands are a thriving offshore financial center. More than 40,000 companies were registered in the Cayman Islands as of 1998, including almost 600 banks and trust companies; banking assets exceed $500 billion. A stock exchange was opened in 1997. Tourism is also a mainstay, accounting for about 70% of GDP and 75% of foreign currency earnings. The tourist industry is aimed at the luxury market and caters mainly to visitors from North America. Total tourist arrivals exceeded 1.2 million in 1997, with 600,000 from the US. About 90% of the islands' food and consumer goods must be imported. The Caymanians enjoy one of the highest outputs per capita and one of the highest standards of living in the world. | Sudan is buffeted by civil war, chronic instability, adverse weather, weak world agricultural prices, a drop in remittances from abroad, and counterproductive economic policies. The private sector's main areas of activity are agriculture (which employs 80% of the work force), trading, and light industry which is mostly processing of agricultural goods. Most of the 1990s were characterized by sluggish economic growth as the IMF suspended lending, declared Sudan a non-cooperative state, and threatened to expel Sudan from the IMF. Starting in 1997, Sudan began implementing IMF macroeconomic reforms which have successfully stabilized inflation at 10% or less. Sudan continues to have limited international credit resources as over 75% of Sudan's debt of $24.9 billion is in arrears and Khartoum's continued prosecution of the civil war works to isolate Sudan. In 1999, Sudan began exporting oil and in 1999-2000 had recorded its first trade surpluses. Current oil production stands at 185,000 barrels per day, of which about 70% is exported and the rest refined for domestic consumption. Despite its many infrastructure problems, Sudan's increased oil production, the return of regular rainfall, and recent investments in irrigation schemes should allow the country to achieve economic growth of 6% in 2001. |
Electricity - consumption | 355.2 million kWh (2001) | 1.637 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 381.9 million kWh (2001) | 1.76 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
fossil fuel:
42.05% hydro: 57.95% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: The Bluff 43 m |
lowest point:
Red Sea 0 m highest point: Kinyeti 3,187 m |
Environment - current issues | no natural fresh water resources; drinking water supplies must be met by rainwater catchments | inadequate supplies of potable water; wildlife populations threatened by excessive hunting; soil erosion; desertification |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | mixed 40%, white 20%, black 20%, expatriates of various ethnic groups 20% | black 52%, Arab 39%, Beja 6%, foreigners 2%, other 1% |
Exchange rates | Caymanian dollars per US dollar - 0.82 (29 October 2001), 0.83 (3 November 1995), 0.85 (22 November 1993) | Sudanese dinars per US dollar - 257.44 (January 2001), 257.12 (2000), 252.55 (1999), 200.80 (1998), 157.57 (1997), 125.08 (1996) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); Governor Bruce DINWIDDY (since 29 May 2002)
head of government: Chief Secretary W. McKeeva BUSH (since NA December 2001) cabinet: Executive Council (three members appointed by the governor, four members elected by the Legislative Assembly) elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; the governor is appointed by the monarch; the chief secretary is appointed by the governor |
chief of state:
President Lt. Gen. Umar Hasan Ahmad al-BASHIR (since 16 October 1993); First Vice President Ali Uthman Muhammad TAHA (since 17 February 1998), Second Vice President Moses MACHAR (since 12 February 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Lt. Gen. Umar Hasan Ahmad al-BASHIR (since 16 October 1993); First Vice President Ali Uthman Muhammad TAHA (since 17 February 1998), Second Vice President Moses MACHAR (since 12 February 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president; note - the National Congress Party (front for the National Islamic Front or NIF) dominates BASHIR's cabinet elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 13-23 December 2000 (next to be held NA 2005) election results: Umar Hasan Ahmad al-BASHIR reelected president; percent of vote - Umar Hasan Ahmad al-BASHIR 86.5%, Ja'afar Muhammed NUMAYRI 9.6%, three other candidates received less than a combined 4% of the vote note: BASHIR assumed supreme executive power in 1989 and retained it through several transitional governments in the early and mid-90s before being popularly elected for the first time in March 1996 |
Exports | NA (2001) | $1.7 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | turtle products, manufactured consumer goods | oil and petroleum products, cotton, sesame, livestock, groundnuts, gum arabic, sugar |
Exports - partners | mostly US | Saudi Arabia 16%, Italy 10%, Germany 5%, France 3%, Thailand 3% (1999) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
Flag description | blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Caymanian coat of arms centered on the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms includes a pineapple and turtle above a shield with three stars (representing the three islands) and a scroll at the bottom bearing the motto HE HATH FOUNDED IT UPON THE SEAS | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black with a green isosceles triangle based on the hoist side |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $1.27 billion (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $35.7 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 1.4%
industry: 3.2% services: 95.4% (1994 est.) |
agriculture:
39% industry: 17% services: 44% (1998 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $35,000 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,000 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 1.7% (2002 est.) | 7% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 19 30 N, 80 30 W | 15 00 N, 30 00 E |
Geography - note | important location between Cuba and Central America | largest country in Africa; dominated by the Nile and its tributaries |
Heliports | - | 1 (2000 est.) |
Highways | total: 785 km
paved: 785 km (2000) |
total:
11,900 km paved: 4,320 km unpaved: 7,580 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | offshore financial center; vulnerable to drug transshipment to the US and Europe | - |
Imports | NA (2001) | $1.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, manufactured goods | foodstuffs, manufactured goods, machinery and transport equipment, medicines and chemicals, textiles |
Imports - partners | US, Trinidad and Tobago, UK, Netherlands Antilles, Japan | China 14.7%, Libya 14.7%, Saudi Arabia 8.9%, UK 8.7%, France 6.7% (1999) |
Independence | none (overseas territory of the UK) | 1 January 1956 (from Egypt and UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 5% (1996 est.) |
Industries | tourism, banking, insurance and finance, construction, construction materials, furniture | cotton ginning, textiles, cement, edible oils, sugar, soap distilling, shoes, petroleum refining, pharmaceuticals, armaments |
Infant mortality rate | total: 8.64 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 9.9 deaths/1,000 live births female: 7.35 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
68.67 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.8% (2002) | 10% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | Caricom (associate), CDB, Interpol (subbureau), IOC, UNESCO (associate) | ABEDA, ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNU, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 16 (2000) | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 19,460 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Summary Court; Grand Court; Cayman Islands Court of Appeal | Supreme Court; Special Revolutionary Courts |
Labor force | 19,820 (1995) | 11 million (1996 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 1.4%, industry 12.6%, services 86% (1995) | agriculture 80%, industry and commerce 10%, government 6%, unemployed 4% (1996 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total:
7,687 km border countries: Central African Republic 1,165 km, Chad 1,360 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo 628 km, Egypt 1,273 km, Eritrea 605 km, Ethiopia 1,606 km, Kenya 232 km, Libya 383 km, Uganda 435 km |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (1998 est.) |
arable land:
5% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 46% forests and woodland: 19% other: 30% (1993 est.) |
Languages | English | Arabic (official), Nubian, Ta Bedawie, diverse dialects of Nilotic, Nilo-Hamitic, Sudanic languages, English
note: program of "Arabization" in process |
Legal system | British common law and local statutes | based on English common law and Islamic law; as of 20 January 1991, the now defunct Revolutionary Command Council imposed Islamic law in the northern states; Islamic law applies to all residents of the northern states regardless of their religion; some separate religious courts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
Legislative branch | unicameral Legislative Assembly (18 seats, three appointed members from the Executive Council and 15 elected by popular vote; members serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 8 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2004) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - NA |
unicameral National Assembly (400 seats; 275 elected by popular vote, 125 elected by a supra assembly of interest groups known as the National Congress)
elections: last held 13-23 December 2000 (next to be held NA) election results: NA; few parties participated in the 2000 elections note: on 12 December 1999, BASHIR dismissed the National Assembly during an internal power struggle between the president and speaker of the National Assembly Hasan al-TURABI |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 79.67 years
male: 77.08 years female: 82.3 years (2003 est.) |
total population:
56.94 years male: 55.85 years female: 58.08 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 98% male: 98% female: 98% (1970 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 46.1% male: 57.7% female: 34.6% (1995 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, island group in Caribbean Sea, nearly one-half of the way from Cuba to Honduras | Northern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Egypt and Eritrea |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Africa |
Maritime claims | exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
contiguous zone:
18 NM continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 123 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 2,402,058 GRT/3,792,094 DWT
ships by type: bulk 22, cargo 5, chemical tanker 31, container 2, liquefied gas 1, petroleum tanker 21, refrigerated cargo 35, roll on/roll off 5, specialized tanker 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Bahrain 2, China 1, Germany 4, Greece 27, Hong Kong 3, Italy 2, Japan 1, Norway 14, Sweden 13, United Kingdom 15, United States 35 (2002 est.) |
total:
4 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 38,093 GRT/49,727 DWT ships by type: cargo 2, roll on/roll off 2 (2000 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the UK | - |
Military branches | no regular indigenous military forces; Royal Cayman Islands Police Force (RCIPF) | Army, Navy, Air Force, Popular Defense Force Militia |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $550 million (FY98) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | NA% |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
8,436,732 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
5,194,862 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
398,294 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Constitution Day, first Monday in July | Independence Day, 1 January (1956) |
Nationality | noun: Caymanian(s)
adjective: Caymanian |
noun:
Sudanese (singular and plural) adjective: Sudanese |
Natural hazards | hurricanes (July to November) | dust storms |
Natural resources | fish, climate and beaches that foster tourism | petroleum; small reserves of iron ore, copper, chromium ore, zinc, tungsten, mica, silver, gold, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 19.27 migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: major destination for Cubans trying to migrate to the US (2003 est.) |
0.04 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | - | refined products 815 km |
Political parties and leaders | there are no formal political parties but the following loose groupings act as political organizations; National Team [leader NA]; Democratic Alliance [leader NA]; Team Cayman [leader NA]; United Democratic Party [leader NA] | the government allows political "associations" under a 1998 law revised in 2000; to obtain government approval parties must accept the constitution and refrain from advocating or using violence against the regime; approved parties include the National Congress Party or NCP [Ibrahim Ahmed UMAR], Popular National Congress [Hassan al-TURABI], and a handful of minor pro-government parties |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | National Congress Party [Ibrahim Ahmed UMAR] (front for the National Islamic Front or NIF); Popular National Congress [Hassan al-TURABI]; Umma [Sadiq al-MAHDI]; Democratic Unionist Party [Muhammed Uthman AL-MIRGHANI]; National Democratic Alliance [Muhammed Uthman AL-MIRGHANI, chairman]; Sudan People's Liberation Army [Dr. John GARANG] |
Population | 41,934 (July 2003 est.) | 36,080,373 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.79% (2003 est.) | 2.79% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Cayman Brac, George Town | Juba, Khartoum, Kusti, Malakal, Nimule, Port Sudan, Sawakin |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 12, FM 1, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | - | 7.55 million (1997) |
Railways | 0 km | total:
5,311 km narrow gauge: 4,595 km 1.067-m gauge; 716 km 1.6096-m gauge plantation line note: the main line linking Khartoum to Port Sudan carries over two-thirds of Sudan's rail traffic |
Religions | United Church (Presbyterian and Congregational), Anglican, Baptist, Church of God, other Protestant, Roman Catholic | Sunni Muslim 70% (in north), indigenous beliefs 25%, Christian 5% (mostly in south and Khartoum) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.87 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.29 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 17 years of age; universal, but noncompulsory |
Telephone system | general assessment: NA
domestic: NA international: 1 submarine coaxial cable; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment:
large, well-equipped system by regional standards and being upgraded; cellular communications started in 1996 and have expanded substantially domestic: consists of microwave radio relay, cable, radiotelephone communications, tropospheric scatter, and a domestic satellite system with 14 earth stations international: satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) and 1 Arabsat (2000) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 19,000 (1995) | 400,000 (2000) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2,534 (1995) | 20,000 (2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 with cable system | 3 (1997) |
Terrain | low-lying limestone base surrounded by coral reefs | generally flat, featureless plain; mountains in east and west |
Total fertility rate | 1.91 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 5.35 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 4.1% (1997) | 4% (1996 est.) |
Waterways | none | 5,310 km |