Compare Central African Republic (2008) - Bahamas, The (2007)

Compare Central African Republic (2008) z Bahamas, The (2007)

	Central African Republic (2008)	Bahamas, The (2007)

Administrative divisions	14 prefectures (prefectures, singular - prefecture), 2 economic prefectures* (prefectures economiques, singular - prefecture economique), and 1 commune; Bamingui-Bangoran, Bangui, Basse-Kotto, Haute-Kotto, Haut-Mbomou, Kemo, Lobaye, Mambere-Kadei, Mbomou, Nana-Grebizi, Nana-Mambere, Ombella-Mpoko, Ouaka, Ouham, Ouham-Pende, Sangha-Mbaere, Vakaga	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: 41.6% (male 914,566/female 903,849) 15-64 years: 54.2% (male 1,174,520/female 1,195,364) 65 years and over: 4.1% (male 71,355/female 109,384) (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	timber, cotton, coffee, tobacco, manioc (tapioca), yams, millet, corn, bananas; timber	citrus, vegetables; poultry
Airports	51 (2007)	62 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (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: 48 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 10 914 to 1,523 m: 24 under 914 m: 13 (2007)	total: 38 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 22 (2007)
Area	total: 622,984 sq km land: 622,984 sq km water: 0 sq km	total: 13,940 sq km land: 10,070 sq km water: 3,870 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than Texas	slightly smaller than Connecticut
Background	The former French colony of Ubangi-Shari became the Central African Republic upon independence in 1960. After three tumultuous decades of misrule - mostly by military governments - civilian rule was established in 1993 and lasted for one decade. President Ange-Felix PATASSE's civilian government was plagued by unrest, and in March 2003 he was deposed in a military coup led by General Francois BOZIZE, who established a transitional government. Though the government has the tacit support of civil society groups and the main parties, a wide field of candidates contested the municipal, legislative, and presidential elections held in March and May of 2005 in which General BOZIZE was affirmed as president. The government still does not fully control the countryside, where pockets of lawlessness persist. Unrest in neighboring nations, Chad, Sudan, and the DRC, continues to affect stability in the Central African Republic as well.	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	33.52 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)	17.3 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget	revenues: $250 million expenditures: $273 million (2007 est.)	revenues: $1.03 billion expenditures: $1.03 billion (FY04/05)
Capital	name: Bangui geographic coordinates: 4 22 N, 18 35 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours 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	tropical; hot, dry winters; mild to hot, wet summers	tropical marine; moderated by warm waters of Gulf Stream
Coastline	0 km (landlocked)	3,542 km
Constitution	ratified by popular referendum 5 December 2004; effective 27 December 2004	10 July 1973
Country name	conventional long form: Central African Republic conventional short form: none local long form: Republique Centrafricaine local short form: none former: Ubangi-Shari, Central African Empire abbreviation: CAR	conventional long form: Commonwealth of The Bahamas conventional short form: The Bahamas
Death rate	18.46 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)	9.13 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external	$1.153 billion (2007 est.)	$342.6 million (2004 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires James PANOS embassy: Avenue David Dacko, Bangui mailing address: B. P. 924, Bangui telephone: [236] 61 02 00 FAX: [236] 61 44 94 note: the embassy is currently operating with a minimal staff	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	chief of mission: Ambassador Emmanuel TOUABOY chancery: 1618 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 483-7800 FAX: [1] (202) 332-9893	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
Disputes - international	periodic skirmishes over water and grazing rights among related pastoral populations along the border with southern Sudan persist	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	ODA, $95.29 million; note - traditional budget subsidies from France (2005 est.)	$4.78 million (2004)
Economy - overview	Subsistence agriculture, together with forestry, remains the backbone of the economy of the Central African Republic (CAR), with more than 70% of the population living in outlying areas. The agricultural sector generates more than half of GDP. Timber has accounted for about 16% of export earnings and the diamond industry, for 40%. Important constraints to economic development include the CAR's landlocked position, a poor transportation system, a largely unskilled work force, and a legacy of misdirected macroeconomic policies. Factional fighting between the government and its opponents remains a drag on economic revitalization. Distribution of income is extraordinarily unequal. Grants from France and the international community can only partially meet humanitarian needs.	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.
Electricity - consumption	101.4 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	109 million kWh (2005)	1.894 billion kWh (2005)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Oubangui River 335 m highest point: Mont Ngaoui 1,420 m	lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Alvernia, on Cat Island 63 m
Environment - current issues	tap water is not potable; poaching has diminished the country's reputation as one of the last great wildlife refuges; desertification; deforestation	coral reef decay; solid waste disposal
Environment - international agreements	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea	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	Baya 33%, Banda 27%, Mandjia 13%, Sara 10%, Mboum 7%, M'Baka 4%, Yakoma 4%, other 2%	black 85%, white 12%, Asian and Hispanic 3%
Exchange rates	Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 481.8 (2007), 522.59 (2006), 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003)	Bahamian dollars per US dollar - 1 (2006), 1 (2005), 1 (2004), 1 (2003), 1 (2002)
Executive branch	chief of state: President Francois BOZIZE (since 15 March 2003 coup) head of government: Prime Minister Faustin-Archange TOUADERA (since 22 January 2008) cabinet: Council of Ministers elections: under the new constitution, the president elected to a five-year term (eligible for a second term); elections last held 13 March and 8 May 2005 (next to be held in 2010); prime minister appointed by the political party with a parliamentary majority election results: Francois BOZIZE elected president; percent of second round balloting - Francois BOZIZE (KNK) 64.6%, Martin ZIGUELE (MLPC) 35.4%	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	diamonds, timber, cotton, coffee, tobacco	mineral products and salt, animal products, rum, chemicals, fruit and vegetables
Exports - partners	Belgium 30.7%, Spain 10.7%, Indonesia 8%, France 7.8%, China 6.9%, Democratic Republic of the Congo 6%, Turkey 5%, Italy 4.7% (2006)	Spain 23.8%, US 21.1%, Poland 14.4%, Germany 7.3%, UK 6.1%, Guatemala 5.2% (2006)
Fiscal year	calendar year	1 July - 30 June
Flag description	four equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, green, and yellow with a vertical red band in center; there is a yellow five-pointed star on the hoist side of the blue band	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: 55% industry: 20% services: 25% (2001 est.)	agriculture: 3% industry: 7% services: 90% (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	4% (2007 est.)	4% (2006 est.)
Geographic coordinates	7 00 N, 21 00 E	24 15 N, 76 00 W
Geography - note	landlocked; almost the precise center of Africa	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%: 0.7% highest 10%: 47.7% (1993)	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: 27% (2000)
Illicit drugs	-	transshipment point for cocaine and marijuana bound for US and Europe; offshore financial center
Imports	2,201 bbl/day (2004)	NA bbl/day
Imports - commodities	food, textiles, petroleum products, machinery, electrical equipment, motor vehicles, chemicals, pharmaceuticals	machinery and transport equipment, manufactures, chemicals, mineral fuels; food and live animals
Imports - partners	France 15.4%, Netherlands 15.1%, US 9.2%, Cameroon 8.9% (2006)	US 24.5%, Brazil 15.6%, Japan 13%, South Korea 7.8%, Spain 7.1% (2006)
Independence	13 August 1960 (from France)	10 July 1973 (from UK)
Industrial production growth rate	3% (2002)	NA%
Industries	gold and diamond mining, logging, brewing, textiles, footwear, assembly of bicycles and motorcycles	tourism, banking, cement, oil transshipment, salt, rum, aragonite, pharmaceuticals, spiral-welded steel pipe
Infant mortality rate	total: 83.97 deaths/1,000 live births male: 90.68 deaths/1,000 live births female: 77.05 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)	4% (2007 est.)	1.2% (2004)
International organization participation	ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, BDEAC, CEMAC, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIC (observer), OIF, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO	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)
Irrigated land	20 sq km (2003)	10 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch	Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; Constitutional Court (3 judges appointed by the president, 3 by the president of the National Assembly, and 3 by fellow judges); Court of Appeal; Criminal Courts; Inferior Courts	Privy Council (London); Courts of Appeal; Supreme (lower) Court; magistrates courts
Labor force	1.857 million (2006)	176,300 (2004)
Labor force - by occupation	-	agriculture 5%, industry 5%, tourism 50%, other services 40% (2005 est.)
Land boundaries	total: 5,203 km border countries: Cameroon 797 km, Chad 1,197 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo 1,577 km, Republic of the Congo 467 km, Sudan 1,165 km	0 km
Land use	arable land: 3.1% permanent crops: 0.15% other: 96.75% (2005)	arable land: 0.58% permanent crops: 0.29% other: 99.13% (2005)
Languages	French (official), Sangho (lingua franca and national language), tribal languages	English (official), Creole (among Haitian immigrants)
Legal system	based on French law	based on English common law
Legislative branch	unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (109 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 13 March 2005 and 8 May 2005 (next to be held in 2010) election results: percent of vote by party - MLPC 43%, RDC 18%, MDD 9%, FPP 6%, PSD 5%, ADP 4%, PUN 3%, FODEM 2%, PLD 2%, UPR 1%, FC 1%, independents 6%; seats by party - MLPC 47, RDC 20, MDD 8, FPP 7, PSD 6, ADP 5, PUN 3, FODEM 2, PLD 2, UPR 1, FC 1, independents 7	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: 43.74 years male: 43.69 years female: 43.79 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: 51% male: 63.3% female: 39.9% (2003 est.)	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 95.6% male: 94.7% female: 96.5% (2003 est.)
Location	Central Africa, north of Democratic Republic of the Congo	Caribbean, chain of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of Florida, northeast of Cuba
Map references	Africa	Central America and the Caribbean
Maritime claims	none (landlocked)	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 branches	Central African Armed Forces (Forces Armees Centrafricaines, FACA): Ground Forces, General Directorate of Gendarmerie Inspection (DGIG), Military Air Service, National Police (2008)	Royal Bahamian Defense Force: Land Force, Navy, Air Wing (2007)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	1.1% (2006 est.)	0.5% (2006)
National holiday	Republic Day, 1 December (1958)	Independence Day, 10 July (1973)
Nationality	noun: Central African(s) adjective: Central African	noun: Bahamian(s) adjective: Bahamian
Natural hazards	hot, dry, dusty harmattan winds affect northern areas; floods are common	hurricanes and other tropical storms cause extensive flood and wind damage
Natural resources	diamonds, uranium, timber, gold, oil, hydropower	salt, aragonite, timber, arable land
Net migration rate	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)	-2.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Political parties and leaders	Alliance for Democracy and Progress or ADP [Jacques MBOLIEDAS]; Central African Democratic Assembly or RDC [Andre KOLINGBA]; Civic Forum or FC [Gen. Timothee MALENDOMA]; Democratic Forum for Modernity or FODEM [Charles MASSI]; Liberal Democratic Party or PLD [Nestor KOMBO-NAGUEMON]; Movement for Democracy and Development or MDD [David DACKO]; Movement for the Liberation of the Central African People or MLPC [Ange-Felix PATASSE] (the party of deposed president); National Convergence or KNK; Patriotic Front for Progress or FPP [Abel GOUMBA]; People's Union for the Republic or UPR [Pierre Sammy MAKFOY]; National Unity Party or PUN [Jean-Paul NGOUPANDE]; Social Democratic Party or PSD [Enoch LAKOUE]	Free National Movement or FNM [Hubert INGRAHAM]; Progressive Liberal Party or PLP [Perry CHRISTIE]
Political pressure groups and leaders	NA	NA
Population	4,369,038 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.)	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	1.505% (2007 est.)	0.602% (2007 est.)
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 1 (2001)	AM 3, FM 5, shortwave 0 (2006)
Religions	indigenous beliefs 35%, Protestant 25%, Roman Catholic 25%, Muslim 15% note: animistic beliefs and practices strongly influence the Christian majority	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: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.012 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.983 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.652 male(s)/female total population: 0.978 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	21 years of age; universal	18 years of age; universal
Telephone system	general assessment: limited telephone service; fixed-line connections for well less than 1 per 100 persons coupled with mobile-cellular usage of only about 3 per 100 persons domestic: network consists principally of microwave radio relay and low-capacity, low-powered radiotelephone communication international: country code - 236; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (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	10,000 (2005)	133,100 (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular	100,000 (2005)	227,800 (2005)
Television broadcast stations	1 (2001)	2 (2006)
Terrain	vast, flat to rolling, monotonous plateau; scattered hills in northeast and southwest	long, flat coral formations with some low rounded hills
Total fertility rate	4.32 children born/woman (2007 est.)	2.15 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate	8% (23% for Bangui) (2001 est.)	10.2% (2005 est.)
Waterways	2,800 km (primarily on the Oubangui and Sangha rivers) (2006)	-

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