Montserrat (2006) | Croatia (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | 3 parishes; Saint Anthony, Saint Georges, Saint Peter | 20 counties (zupanije, zupanija - singular), 1 city (grad -singular)*: Bjelovarsko-Bilogorska Zupanija, Brodsko-Posavska Zupanija, Dubrovacko-Neretvanska Zupanija, Istarska Zupanija, Karlovacka Zupanija, Koprivnicko-Krizevacka Zupanija, Krapinsko-Zagorska Zupanija, Licko-Senjska Zupanija, Medimurska Zupanija, Osjecko-Baranjska Zupanija, Pozesko-Slavonska Zupanija, Primorsko-Goranska Zupanija, Sibensko-Kninska Zupanija, Sisacko-Moslavacka Zupanija, Splitsko-Dalmatinska Zupanija, Varazdinska Zupanija, Viroviticko-Podravska Zupanija, Vukovarsko-Srijemska Zupanija, Zadarska Zupanija, Zagreb*, Zagrebacka Zupanija |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 23.3% (male 1,125/female 1,079)
15-64 years: 65.7% (male 2,957/female 3,245) 65 years and over: 10.9% (male 532/female 501) (2006 est.) |
0-14 years:
18.16% (male 403,722; female 383,151) 15-64 years: 66.61% (male 1,452,872; female 1,434,086) 65 years and over: 15.23% (male 245,727; female 414,584) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cabbages, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, peppers; livestock products | wheat, corn, sugar beets, sunflower seed, alfalfa, clover, olives, citrus, grapes, soy beans, potatoes; livestock, dairy products |
Airports | 2 (2006) | 67 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
under 914 m: 2 (2006) |
total:
22 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 8 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total:
45 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 8 under 914 m: 36 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 102 sq km
land: 102 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total:
56,542 sq km land: 56,414 sq km water: 128 sq km |
Area - comparative | about 0.6 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than West Virginia |
Background | English and Irish colonists from St. Kitts first settled on Montserrat in 1632; the first African slaves arrived three decades later. The British and French fought for possesion of the island for most of the 18th century, but it finally was confirmed as a British possession in 1783. The island's sugar plantation economy was converted to small farm landholdings in the mid 19th century. Much of this island was devastated and two-thirds of the population fled abroad because of the eruption of the Soufriere Hills Volcano that began on 18 July 1995. Montserrat has endured volcanic activity since, with the last eruption occurring in July 2003. | In 1918, the Croats, Serbs, and Slovenes formed a kingdom known after 1929 as Yugoslavia. Following World War II, Yugoslavia became an independent communist state under the strong hand of Marshal TITO. Although Croatia declared its independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, it took four years of sporadic, but often bitter, fighting before occupying Serb armies were mostly cleared from Croatian lands. Under UN supervision the last Serb-held enclave in eastern Slavonia was returned to Croatia in 1998. |
Birth rate | 17.59 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 12.82 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $31.4 million
expenditures: $31.6 million; including capital expenditures of $8.4 million (1997 est.) |
revenues:
$6 billion expenditures: $4.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) |
Capital | name: Plymouth
geographic coordinates: 16 44 N, 62 14 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) note: Plymouth was 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 |
Zagreb |
Climate | tropical; little daily or seasonal temperature variation | Mediterranean and continental; continental climate predominant with hot summers and cold winters; mild winters, dry summers along coast |
Coastline | 40 km | 5,835 km (mainland 1,777 km, islands 4,058 km) |
Constitution | effective 19 December 1989 | adopted on 22 December 1990 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Montserrat |
conventional long form:
Republic of Croatia conventional short form: Croatia local long form: Republika Hrvatska local short form: Hrvatska |
Currency | - | kuna (HRK) |
Death rate | 7.1 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 11.41 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $8.9 million (1997) | $9.9 billion (December 1999) |
Dependency status | overseas territory of the UK | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | chief of mission:
Ambassador Lawrence G. ROSSIN embassy: Andrije Hebranga 2, 100000 Zagreb mailing address: use street address telephone: [385] (1) 455-55-00 FAX: [385] (1) 455-85-85 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | chief of mission:
Ambassador Ivan GRDESIC chancery: 2343 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 588-5899 FAX: [1] (202) 588-8936 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Cleveland, Los Angeles, New York |
Disputes - international | none | Croatia and Italy made progress toward resolving a bilateral issue dating from World War II over property and ethnic minority rights; progress with Slovenia on discussions of adjustments to land boundary, but problems remain in defining maritime boundary in Gulf of Piran; Croatia and Yugoslavia are negotiating the status of the strategically important Prevlaka Peninsula, which is currently under a UN military observer mission (UNMOP) |
Economic aid - recipient | Country Policy Plan (2001) is a three-year program for spending $122.8 million in British budgetary assistance (2002 est.) | $NA |
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 volcanic activity 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. | Before the dissolution of Yugoslavia, the Republic of Croatia, after Slovenia, was the most prosperous and industrialized area, with a per capita output perhaps one-third above the Yugoslav average. Croatia faces considerable economic problems stemming from: the legacy of longtime communist mismanagement of the economy; damage during the internecine fighting to bridges, factories, power lines, buildings, and houses; the large refugee and displaced population, both Croatian and Bosnian; and the disruption of economic ties. Stepped-up Western aid and investment, especially in the tourist and oil industries, would help bolster the economy. The economy emerged from its mild recession in 2000 with tourism the main factor. Massive unemployment remains a key negative element. The government's failure to press the economic reforms needed to spur growth is largely the result of coalition politics and public resistance, particularly from the trade unions, to measures that would cut jobs, wages, or social benefits. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.86 million kWh (2003) | 13.643 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2003) | 1 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2003) | 4.45 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 2 million kWh (2003) | 10.96 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
40.89% hydro: 59% nuclear: 0% other: 0.11% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: lava dome in English's Crater (in the Soufriere Hills volcanic complex) estimated at over 930 m (2006) |
lowest point:
Adriatic Sea 0 m highest point: Dinara 1,830 m |
Environment - current issues | land erosion occurs on slopes that have been cleared for cultivation | air pollution (from metallurgical plants) and resulting acid rain is damaging the forests; coastal pollution from industrial and domestic waste; landmine removal and reconstruction of infrastructure consequent to 1992-95 civil strife |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to:
Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
Ethnic groups | black, white | Croat 78.1%, Serb 12.2%, Bosniak 0.9%, Hungarian 0.5%, Slovenian 0.5%, Czech 0.4%, Albanian 0.3%, Montenegrin 0.3%, Roma 0.2%, others 6.6% (1991) |
Exchange rates | East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7 (2005), 2.7 (2004), 2.7 (2003), 2.7 (2002), 2.7 (2001)
note: fixed rate since 1976 |
kuna per US dollar - 8.089 (January 2001), 8.277 (2000), 7.112 (1999), 6.362 (1998), 6.101 (1997), 5.434 (1996) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor Deborah BARNES-JONES (since 10 May 2004)
head of government: Chief Minister Lowell LEWIS (since 2 June 2006) 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 |
chief of state:
President Stjepan (Stipe) MESIC (since 18 February 2000) head of government: Prime Minister Ivica RACAN (since 27 January 2000); Deputy Prime Ministers Goran GRANIC (since 27 January 2000), Zeljka ANTUNOVIC (since 27 January 2000), Slavko LINIC (since 27 January 2000) cabinet: Council of Ministers named by the prime minister and approved by the House of Representatives elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 7 February 2000 (next to be held NA 2005); prime minister nominated by the president in line with the balance of power in the Assembly election results: Stjepan MESIC elected president; percent of vote - Stjepan MESIC (HNS) 56%, Drazen BUDISA (HSLS) 44% note: government coalition - SDP, HSLS, HSS, LP, HNS, IDS |
Exports | NA bbl/day | $4.3 billion (f.o.b., 1999) |
Exports - commodities | electronic components, plastic bags, apparel; hot peppers, limes, live plants; cattle | transport equipment, textiles, chemicals, foodstuffs, fuels |
Exports - partners | US, Antigua and Barbuda (2004) | Italy 18%, Germany 15.7%, Bosnia and Herzegovina 12.8%, Slovenia 10.6%, Austria 6.2% (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 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 | red, white, and blue horizontal bands with Croatian coat of arms (red and white checkered) |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $24.9 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 5.4%
industry: 13.6% services: 81% (1996 est.) |
agriculture:
10% industry: 19% services: 71% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $5,800 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | -1% (2002 est.) | 3.2% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 16 45 N, 62 12 W | 45 10 N, 15 30 E |
Geography - note | the island is entirely volcanic in origin and comprised of three major volcanic centers of differing ages | controls most land routes from Western Europe to Aegean Sea and Turkish Straits |
Heliports | - | 1 (2000 est.) |
Highways | - | total:
27,840 km paved: 23,497 km (including 330 km of expressways) unpaved: 4,343 km (1998) |
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 | transit point along the Balkan route for Southwest Asian heroin to Western Europe; a minor transit point for maritime shipments of South American cocaine bound for Western Europe |
Imports | NA bbl/day | $7.8 billion (c.i.f., 1999) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transportation equipment, foodstuffs, manufactured goods, fuels, lubricants, and related materials | machinery, transport and electrical equipment, chemicals, fuels and lubricants, foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | US, UK, Trinidad and Tobago, Japan, Canada (2004) | Germany 18.5%, Italy 15.9%, Russia 8.6%, Slovenia 7.9%, Austria 7.1% (1999) |
Independence | none (overseas territory of the UK) | 25 June 1991 (from Yugoslavia) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 1.7% (2000) |
Industries | tourism, rum, textiles, electronic appliances | chemicals and plastics, machine tools, fabricated metal, electronics, pig iron and rolled steel products, aluminum, paper, wood products, construction materials, textiles, shipbuilding, petroleum and petroleum refining, food and beverages; tourism |
Infant mortality rate | total: 7.19 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 8.35 deaths/1,000 live births female: 5.97 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
7.21 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.6% (2002 est.) | 6% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | Caricom, CDB, ICFTU, Interpol (subbureau), OECS, UPU | BIS, CCC, CE, CEI, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM (observer), OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 9 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA | 30 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) | Supreme Court; Constitutional Court; judges for both courts appointed for eight-year terms by the Judicial Council of the Republic, which is elected by the House of Representatives |
Labor force | 4,521
note: lowered by flight of people from volcanic activity (2000 est.) |
1.68 million (October 2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total:
2,028 km border countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina 932 km, Hungary 329 km, Yugoslavia 266 km, Slovenia 501 km |
Land use | arable land: 20%
permanent crops: 0% other: 80% (2005) |
arable land:
21% permanent crops: 2% permanent pastures: 20% forests and woodland: 38% other: 19% (1993 est.) |
Languages | English | Croatian 96%, other 4% (including Italian, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak, and German) |
Legal system | English common law and statutory law | based on civil law system |
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 31 May 2006 (next to be held by 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - MCAP 36.1%, NPLM 29.4%, MDP 24.4%, independents 10.1%; seats by party - MCAP 4, NPLM 3, MDP 1, independents 1 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 |
bicameral Assembly or Sabor consists of the House of Counties or Zupanijski Dom (68 seats, 63 directly elected by popular vote, 5 appointed by the president; members serve four-year terms; note - House of Counties to be abolished in 2001) and House of Representatives or the Zastupnicki Dom (151 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: House of Counties - last held 13 April 1997; House of Representatives - last held 2-3 January 2000 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: House of Counties - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - HDZ 42, HSLS/HSS 11, HSS 2, IDS 2, SDP/PGS/HNS 2, SDP/HNS 2, HSLS/HSS/HNS 1, HSLS 1; note - in some districts certain parties ran as coalitions, while in others they ran alone; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - HDZ 46, SDP 44, HSLS 24, HSS 17, HSP/HKDU 5, IDS 4, HNS 2, independents 4, minority representatives 5 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 78.85 years
male: 76.67 years female: 81.14 years (2006 est.) |
total population:
73.9 years male: 70.28 years female: 77.73 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 97% male: 97% female: 97% (1970 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 97% male: 99% female: 95% (1991 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, southeast of Puerto Rico | Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea, between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Slovenia |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Europe |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 3 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
continental shelf:
200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | - | total:
53 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 631,853 GRT/969,739 DWT ships by type: bulk 11, cargo 18, chemical tanker 1, combination bulk 5, container 3, multi-functional large-load carrier 3, passenger 1, petroleum tanker 2, refrigerated cargo 2, roll on/roll off 4, short-sea passenger 3 (2000 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the UK | - |
Military branches | no regular military forces; Royal Montserrat Police Force (2005) | Ground Forces, Naval Forces, Air and Air Defense Forces |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $575 million (2000) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 3.8% (2000) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
1,085,877 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
859,621 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 19 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
30,037 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Birthday of Queen ELIZABETH II, second Saturday in June (1926) | Republic Day/Statehood Day, 30 May (1990) |
Nationality | noun: Montserratian(s)
adjective: Montserratian |
noun:
Croat(s) adjective: Croatian |
Natural hazards | severe hurricanes (June to November); volcanic eruptions (Soufriere Hills volcano has erupted continuously since 1995) | destructive earthquakes |
Natural resources | NEGL | oil, some coal, bauxite, low-grade iron ore, calcium, natural asphalt, silica, mica, clays, salt, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 13.37 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | - | crude oil 670 km; petroleum products 20 km; natural gas 310 km (1992) |
Political parties and leaders | Montserrat Democratic Party or MDP [Lowell LEWIS]; Movement for Change and Prosperity or MCAP [Roselyn CASSELL-SEALY]; New People's Liberation Movement or NPLM [John A. OSBORNE] | Alliance of Croatian Coast and Mountains Department or PGS [Luciano SUSANJ]; Croatian Christian Democratic Union or HKDU [Marko VESELICA]; Croatian Democratic Union or HDZ [Ivo SANADER]; Croatian Party of Rights or HSP [Dobroslav PARAGA]; Croatian Peasant Party or HSS [Zlatko TOMCIC]; Croatian People's Party or HNS [Vesna PUSIC]; Croatian Social Liberal Party or HSLS [Drazen BUDISA]; Independent Democratic Serb Party or SDSS [Vojislav STANIMIROVIC]; Istrian Democratic Assembly or IDS [Ivan JAKOVCIC]; Liberal Party or LP [leader NA]; Social Democratic Party of Croatia or SDP [Ivica RACAN]
note: the Social Democratic Party or SDP and the Croatian Social Liberal Party or HSLS formed a coalition as did the HSS, HNS, LP, and IDS, which together defeated the Croatian Democratic Union or HDZ in the 2000 lower house parliamentary election |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 9,439
note: an estimated 8,000 refugees left the island following the resumption of volcanic activity in July 1995; some have returned (July 2006 est.) |
4,334,142 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 4% (1999 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.05% (2006 est.) | 1.48% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Dubrovnik, Dugi Rat, Omisalj, Ploce, Pula, Rijeka, Sibenik, Split, Vukovar (inland waterway port on Danube), Zadar |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 16, FM 98, shortwave 5 (1999) |
Radios | - | 1.51 million (1997) |
Railways | - | total:
2,296 km standard gauge: 2,296 km 1.435-m gauge (983 km electrified) (2000) |
Religions | Anglican, Methodist, Roman Catholic, Pentecostal, Seventh-Day Adventist, other Christian denominations | Roman Catholic 76.5%, Orthodox 11.1%, Muslim 1.2%, Protestant 0.4%, others and unknown 10.8% (1991) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.06 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
at birth:
1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.59 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal (16 years of age, if employed) |
Telephone system | general assessment: modern and fully digitalized
domestic: NA international: country code - 1-664 |
general assessment:
NA domestic: reconstruction plan calls for replacement of all analog circuits with digital and enlarging the network; a backup will be included in the plan for the main trunk international: digital international service is provided through the main switch in Zagreb; Croatia participates in the Trans-Asia-Europe (TEL) fiber-optic project which consists of two fiber-optic trunk connections with Slovenia and a fiber-optic trunk line from Rijeka to Split and Dubrovnik; Croatia is also investing in ADRIA 1, a joint fiber-optic project with Germany, Albania, and Greece (2000) |
Telephones - main lines in use | NA | 1.488 million (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 70 (1994) | 187,000 (yearend 1998) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 36 (plus 321 repeaters) (September 1995) |
Terrain | volcanic island, mostly mountainous, with small coastal lowland | geographically diverse; flat plains along Hungarian border, low mountains and highlands near Adriatic coastline and islands |
Total fertility rate | 1.77 children born/woman (2006 est.) | 1.94 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 6% (1998 est.) | 22% (October 2000) |
Waterways | - | 785 km
note: (perennially navigable; large sections of Sava blocked by downed bridges, silt, and debris) |