Montserrat (2002) | World (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | 3 parishes; Saint Anthony, Saint Georges, Saint Peter | 267 nations, dependent areas, other, and miscellaneous entries |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 23.6% (male 1,001; female 986)
15-64 years: 65% (male 2,624; female 2,864) 65 years and over: 11.4% (male 508; female 454) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years:
29.6% (male 933,647,850; female 886,681,514) 15-64 years: 63.4% (male 1,975,418,386; female 1,931,021,694) 65 years and over: 7% (male 188,760,223; female 241,449,691) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cabbages, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, peppers; livestock products | - |
Airports | none; only airport was destroyed by volcanic activity; a helicopter service to Antigua is used | - |
Area | total: 102 sq km
land: 102 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total:
510.072 million sq km land: 148.94 million sq km water: 361.132 million sq km note: 70.8% of the world's surface is water, 29.2% is land |
Area - comparative | about 0.6 times the size of Washington, DC | land area about 16 times the size of the US |
Background | Much of this island has been devastated and two-thirds of the population has fled abroad due to the eruption of the Soufriere Hills volcano that began on 18 July 1995. | Globally, the 20th century was marked by: (a) two devastating world wars; (b) the Great Depression of the 1930s; (c) the end of vast colonial empires; (d) rapid advances in science and technology, from the first airplane flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina (US) to the landing on the moon; (e) the Cold War between the Western alliance and the Warsaw Pact nations; (f) a sharp rise in living standards in North America, Europe, and Japan; (g) increased concerns about the environment, including loss of forests, shortages of energy and water, the drop in biological diversity, and air pollution; (h) the onset of the AIDS epidemic; and (i) the ultimate emergence of the US as the only world superpower. The planet's population continues to explode: from 1 billion in 1820, to 2 billion in 1930, 3 billion in 1960, 4 billion in 1974, 5 billion in 1988, and 6 billion in 2000. For the 21st century, the continued exponential growth in science and technology raises both hopes (e.g., advances in medicine) and fears (e.g., development of even more lethal weapons of war). |
Birth rate | 17.54 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 21.37 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $31.4 million
expenditures: $31.6 million, including capital expenditures of $8.4 million |
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Capital | Plymouth (abandoned in 1997 due to volcanic activity; interim government buildings have been built at Brades Estate, in the Carr's Bay/Little Bay vicinity at the northwest end of Montserrat) | - |
Climate | tropical; little daily or seasonal temperature variation | two large areas of polar climates separated by two rather narrow temperate zones from a wide equatorial band of tropical to subtropical climates |
Coastline | 40 km | 356,000 km |
Constitution | present constitution came into force 19 December 1989 | - |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Montserrat |
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Currency | East Caribbean dollar (XCD) | - |
Death rate | 7.47 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 8.93 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $8.9 million (1997) (1997) | $2 trillion for less developed countries (2000 est.) |
Dependency status | overseas territory of the UK | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | - |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | - |
Disputes - international | none | - |
Economic aid - recipient | Country Policy Plan (2001) is a three-year program for spending $122.8 million in British budgetary assistance | traditional worldwide foreign aid $50 billion (1997 est.) |
Economy - overview | Severe volcanic activity, which began in July 1995, has put a damper on this small, open economy. A catastrophic eruption in June 1997 closed the airports and seaports, causing further economic and social dislocation. Two-thirds of the 12,000 inhabitants fled the island. Some began to return in 1998, but lack of housing limited the number. The agriculture sector continued to be affected by the lack of suitable land for farming and the destruction of crops. Prospects for the economy depend largely on developments in relation to the volcano and on public sector construction activity. The UK has launched a three-year $122.8 million aid program to help reconstruct the economy. Half of the island is expected to remain uninhabitable for another decade. | Growth in global output (gross world product, GWP) rose to 4.8% in 2000 from 3.5% in 1999, despite continued low growth in Japan, severe financial difficulties in other East Asian countries, and widespread dislocations in several transition economies. The US economy continued its remarkable sustained prosperity, growing at 5% in 2000, although growth slowed in fourth quarter 2000; the US accounted for 23% of GWP. The EU economies grew at 3.3% and produced 20% of GWP. China, the second largest economy in the world, continued its strong growth and accounted for 10% of GWP. Japan grew at only 1.3% in 2000; its share in GWP is 7%. As usual, the 15 successor nations of the USSR and the other old Warsaw Pact nations experienced widely different rates of growth. The developing nations also varied in their growth results, with many countries facing population increases that eat up gains in output. Externally, the nation-state, as a bedrock economic-political institution, is steadily losing control over international flows of people, goods, funds, and technology. Internally, the central government often finds its control over resources slipping as separatist regional movements - typically based on ethnicity - gain momentum, e.g., in many of the successor states of the former Soviet Union, in the former Yugoslavia, in India, and in Canada. In Western Europe, governments face the difficult political problem of channeling resources away from welfare programs in order to increase investment and strengthen incentives to seek employment. The addition of 80 million people each year to an already overcrowded globe is exacerbating the problems of pollution, desertification, underemployment, epidemics, and famine. Because of their own internal problems and priorities, the industrialized countries devote insufficient resources to deal effectively with the poorer areas of the world, which, at least from the economic point of view, are becoming further marginalized. Continued financial difficulties in East Asia, Russia, and many African nations, as well as the slowdown in US economic growth, cast a shadow over short-term global economic prospects; GWP probably will grow at 3-4% in 2001. The introduction of the euro as the common currency of much of Western Europe in January 1999, while paving the way for an integrated economic powerhouse, poses serious economic risks because of varying levels of income and cultural and political differences among the participating nations. (For specific economic developments in each country of the world in 2000, see the individual country entries.) |
Electricity - consumption | 4.65 million kWh (2000) | - |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | - |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | - |
Electricity - production | 5 million kWh (2000) | - |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
fossil fuel:
NA% hydro: NA% nuclear: NA% other: NA% |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Chances Peak (in the Soufriere Hills volcanic complex) 914 m |
lowest point:
Bentley Subglacial Trench -2,540 m highest point: Mount Everest 8,850 m (1999 est.) |
Environment - current issues | land erosion occurs on slopes that have been cleared for cultivation | large areas subject to overpopulation, industrial disasters, pollution (air, water, acid rain, toxic substances), loss of vegetation (overgrazing, deforestation, desertification), loss of wildlife, soil degradation, soil depletion, erosion |
Ethnic groups | black, white | - |
Exchange rates | East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7000 (fixed rate since 1976) | - |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor Anthony LONGRIGG (since NA May 2001)
head of government: Chief Minister John OSBORNE (since 5 April 2001) cabinet: Executive Council consists of the governor, the chief minister, three other ministers, the attorney general, and the finance secretary elections: the monarch is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party usually becomes chief minister |
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Exports | $1.5 million (1998) | $6 trillion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | electronic components, plastic bags, apparel, hot peppers, live plants, cattle | the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services |
Exports - partners | US, Antigua and Barbuda (1993) | in value, about 75% of exports from the developed countries |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | - |
Flag description | blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Montserratian coat of arms centered in the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms features a woman standing beside a yellow harp with her arm around a black cross | - |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $31 million (1999 est.) | GWP (gross world product) - purchasing power parity - $43.6 trillion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 5%
industry: 14% services: 81% (1996 est.) |
agriculture:
4% industry: 32% services: 64% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,400 (1999 est.) | purchasing power parity - $7,200 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | -1.5% (1999 est.) | 4.8% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 16 45 N, 62 12 W | - |
Geography - note | the island is entirely volcanic in origin and contains seven active volcanoes | - |
Highways | total: 269 km
paved: 203 km unpaved: 66 km (1995) |
total:
NA km paved: NA km unpaved: NA km |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for South American narcotics destined for the US and Europe | - |
Imports | $26 million (1998) | $6 trillion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transportation equipment, foodstuffs, manufactured goods, fuels, lubricants, and related materials | the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services |
Imports - partners | US, UK, Trinidad and Tobago, Japan, Canada (1993) | in value, about 75% of imports by the developed countries |
Independence | none (overseas territory of the UK) | - |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 6% (2000 est.) |
Industries | tourism, rum, textiles, electronic appliances | dominated by the onrush of technology, especially in computers, robotics, telecommunications, and medicines and medical equipment; most of these advances take place in OECD nations; only a small portion of non-OECD countries have succeeded in rapidly adjusting to these technological forces; the accelerated development of new industrial (and agricultural) technology is complicating already grim environmental problems |
Infant mortality rate | 7.98 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | 52.61 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 5% (1998) (1998) | all countries 25%; developed countries 1% to 3% typically; developing countries 5% to 60% typically (2000 est.)
note: national inflation rates vary widely in individual cases, from stable prices in Japan to hyperinflation in a number of Third World countries |
International organization participation | Caricom, CDB, ECLAC (associate), ICFTU, Interpol (subbureau), OECS, WCL | - |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 17 (2000) | 10,350 (2000 est.) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 2,481,250 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (based in Saint Lucia, one judge of the Supreme Court is a resident of the islands and presides over the High Court) | - |
Labor force | 4,521 (1992); note - lowered by flight of people from volcanic activity | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% | agricultue NA%, industry NA%, services NA% |
Land boundaries | 0 km | the land boundaries in the world total 251,480.24 km (not counting shared boundaries twice) |
Land use | arable land: 20%
permanent crops: 0% other: 80% (1998 est.) |
arable land:
10% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 26% forests and woodland: 32% other: 31% (1993 est.) |
Languages | English | - |
Legal system | English common law and statutory law | all members of the UN plus Switzerland are parties to the statute that established the International Court of Justice (ICJ) or World Court |
Legislative branch | unicameral Legislative Council (11 seats, 9 popularly elected; members serve five-year terms)
note: expanded in 2001 from 7 to 9 elected members with attorney general and financial secretary sitting as ex-officio members elections: last held NA April 2001 (next to be held by November 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NPLM 7, NPP 2 note: in 2001, the Elections Commission instituted a single constituency/voter-at-large system whereby all eligible voters cast ballots for all nine seats of the Legislative Council |
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Life expectancy at birth | total population: 78.2 years
male: 76.1 years female: 80.4 years (2002 est.) |
total population:
63.79 years male: 62.15 years female: 65.51 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 97% male: 97% female: 97% (1970 est.) |
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Location | Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, southeast of Puerto Rico | - |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | World, Time Zones |
Maritime claims | exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 3 NM |
contiguous zone:
24 NM claimed by most, but can vary continental shelf: 200-m depth claimed by most or to depth of exploitation; others claim 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM claimed by most, but can vary exclusive economic zone: 200 NM claimed by most, but can vary territorial sea: 12 NM claimed by most, but can vary note: boundary situations with neighboring states prevent many countries from extending their fishing or economic zones to a full 200 NM; 43 nations and other areas that are landlocked include Afghanistan, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Czech Republic, Ethiopia, Holy See (Vatican City), Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malawi, Mali, Moldova, Mongolia, Nepal, Niger, Paraguay, Rwanda, San Marino, Slovakia, Swaziland, Switzerland, Tajikistan, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Uzbekistan, West Bank, Zambia, Zimbabwe |
Merchant marine | none (2002 est.) | - |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the UK | - |
Military branches | no regular indigenous military forces; Police Force | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | aggregate real expenditure on arms worldwide in 1999 remained at approximately the 1998 level, about three-quarters of a trillion dollars (1999 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | roughly 2% of gross world product (1999 est.) |
National holiday | Birthday of Queen ELIZABETH II, second Saturday in June (1926) | - |
Nationality | noun: Montserratian(s)
adjective: Montserratian |
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Natural hazards | severe hurricanes (June to November); volcanic eruptions (Soufriere Hills volcano has erupted continuously since 1996) | large areas subject to severe weather (tropical cyclones), natural disasters (earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions) |
Natural resources | NEGL | the rapid using up of nonrenewable mineral resources, the depletion of forest areas and wetlands, the extinction of animal and plant species, and the deterioration in air and water quality (especially in Eastern Europe, the former USSR, and China) pose serious long-term problems that governments and peoples are only beginning to address |
Net migration rate | 74.2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | - |
Political parties and leaders | National Progressive Party or NPP [Reuben T. MEADE]; New People's Liberation Movement or NPLM [John A. OSBORNE] | - |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | - |
Population | 8,437
note: an estimated 8,000 refugees left the island following the resumption of volcanic activity in July 1995; some have returned (July 2002 est.) |
6,157,400,560 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | - |
Population growth rate | 8.43% (2002 est.) | 1.25% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Plymouth (abandoned), Little Bay (anchorages and ferry landing), Carr's Bay | Chiba, Houston, Kawasaki, Kobe, Marseille, Mina' al Ahmadi (Kuwait), New Orleans, New York, Rotterdam, Yokohama |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA |
Radios | 7,000 (1997) | NA |
Railways | 0 km (2003) | total:
1,201,337 km includes about 190,000 to 195,000 km of electrified routes of which 147,760 km are in Europe, 24,509 km in the Far East, 11,050 km in Africa, 4,223 km in South America, and 4,160 km in North America; note - fastest speed in daily service is 300 km/hr attained by France's Societe Nationale des Chemins-de-Fer Francais (SNCF) Le Train a Grande Vitesse (TGV) - Atlantique line broad gauge: 251,153 km standard gauge: 710,754 km narrow gauge: 239,430 km |
Religions | Anglican, Methodist, Roman Catholic, Pentecostal, Seventh-Day Adventist, other Christian denominations | - |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.12 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | - |
Telephone system | general assessment: NA
domestic: NA international: NA |
general assessment:
NA domestic: NA international: NA |
Telephones - main lines in use | 4,000 (1997) | NA |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 70 (1994) | NA |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | NA |
Terrain | volcanic islands, mostly mountainous, with small coastal lowland | the greatest ocean depth is the Mariana Trench at 10,924 m in the Pacific Ocean |
Total fertility rate | 1.81 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 2.73 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 6% (1998 est.) | 30% combined unemployment and underemployment in many non-industrialized countries; developed countries typically 4%-12% unemployment (2000 est.) |
Waterways | none | - |