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Compare Reunion (2004) - Bahamas, The (2005)

Compare Reunion (2004) z Bahamas, The (2005)

 Reunion (2004)Bahamas, The (2005)
 ReunionBahamas, The
Administrative divisions none (overseas department of France); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 4 arrondissements, 24 communes, and 47 cantons 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: 30.9% (male 121,050; female 115,440)


15-64 years: 63.1% (male 238,553; female 245,236)


65 years and over: 6% (male 18,626; female 27,248) (2004 est.)
0-14 years: 27.9% (male 42,142/female 42,096)


15-64 years: 65.9% (male 97,865/female 101,047)


65 years and over: 6.2% (male 7,616/female 11,024) (2005 est.)
Agriculture - products sugarcane, vanilla, tobacco, tropical fruits, vegetables, corn citrus, vegetables; poultry
Airports 2 (2003 est.) 63 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways total: 2


2,438 to 3,047 m: 1


914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2004 est.)
total: 29


over 3,047 m: 2


2,438 to 3,047 m: 3


1,524 to 2,437 m: 14


914 to 1,523 m: 9


under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways - total: 34


1,524 to 2,437 m: 3


914 to 1,523 m: 10


under 914 m: 21 (2004 est.)
Area total: 2,517 sq km


land: 2,507 sq km


water: 10 sq km
total: 13,940 sq km


land: 10,070 sq km


water: 3,870 sq km
Area - comparative slightly smaller than Rhode Island slightly smaller than Connecticut
Background The Portuguese discovered the uninhabited island in 1513. From the 17th to the 19th centuries, French immigration, supplemented by influxes of Africans, Chinese, Malays, and Malabar Indians, gave the island its ethnic mix. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 cost the island its importance as a stopover on the East Indies trade route. Arawak 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 its territory is used for smuggling illegal migrants into the US.
Birth rate 19.69 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) 17.87 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Budget revenues: $1.26 billion


expenditures: $2.62 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (1998)
revenues: $1 billion


expenditures: $1 billion, including capital expenditures of $106.7 million (FY03/04)
Capital Saint-Denis Nassau
Climate tropical, but temperature moderates with elevation; cool and dry from May to November, hot and rainy from November to April tropical marine; moderated by warm waters of Gulf Stream
Coastline 207 km 3,542 km
Constitution 28 September 1958 (French Constitution) 10 July 1973
Country name conventional long form: Department of Reunion


conventional short form: Reunion


local long form: none


local short form: Ile de la Reunion


former: Bourbon Island
conventional long form: Commonwealth of The Bahamas


conventional short form: The Bahamas
Currency euro (EUR) -
Death rate 5.48 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) 8.97 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Debt - external NA $308.5 million (2002)
Dependency status overseas department of France -
Diplomatic representation from the US none (overseas department of France) chief of mission: Ambassador John D. ROOD


embassy: 42 Queen Street, Nassau


mailing address: local or express mail address: P. O. Box N-8197, Nassau; Department of State, 3370 Nassau Place, Washington, DC 20521-3370


telephone: [1] (242) 322-1181, 328-2206 (after hours)


FAX: [1] (242) 356-0222
Diplomatic representation in the US none (overseas department of France) chief of mission: Ambassador Joshua SEARS


chancery: 2220 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008


telephone: [1] (202) 319-2660


FAX: [1] (202) 319-2668


consulate(s) general: Miami and New York
Disputes - international none have not been able to agree on the alignment of a maritime boundary with the US; continues to monitor and interdict Haitian refugees fleeing economic privation and political instability
Economic aid - recipient $NA; note - substantial annual subsidies from France (2001 est.) $9.8 million (1995)
Economy - overview The economy has traditionally been based on agriculture, but services now dominate. Sugarcane has been the primary crop for more than a century, and in some years it accounts for 85% of exports. The government has been pushing the development of a tourist industry to relieve high unemployment, which amounts to one-third of the labor force. The gap in Reunion between the well-off and the poor is extraordinary and accounts for the persistent social tensions. The white and Indian communities are substantially better off than other segments of the population, often approaching European standards, whereas minority groups suffer the poverty and unemployment typical of the poorer nations of the African continent. The outbreak of severe rioting in February 1991 illustrates the seriousness of socioeconomic tensions. The economic well-being of Reunion depends heavily on continued financial assistance from France. The Bahamas is a stable, developing nation with an economy heavily dependent on tourism and offshore banking. Tourism alone accounts for more than 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. 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. In addition to tourism and banking, the government supports the development of a "third pillar," e-commerce.
Electricity - consumption 1.005 billion kWh (2001) 1.596 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (2001) 0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports 0 kWh (2001) 0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - production 1.08 billion kWh (2001) 1.716 billion kWh (2002)
Elevation extremes lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m


highest point: Piton des Neiges 3,069 m
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m


highest point: Mount Alvernia, on Cat Island 63 m
Environment - current issues NA 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 French, African, Malagasy, Chinese, Pakistani, Indian black 85%, white 12%, Asian and Hispanic 3%
Exchange rates euros per US dollar - 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999) Bahamian dollars per US dollar - 1 (2004), 1 (2003), 1 (2002), 1 (2001), 1 (2000)
Executive branch chief of state: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Dominique VIAN (since 16 August 2004)


head of government: President of the General Council Jean-Luc POUDROUX (since NA March 1998) and President of the Regional Council Paul VERGES (since NA March 1993)


cabinet: NA


elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of the Interior; the presidents of the General and Regional Councils are elected by the members of those councils
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Dame Ivy DUMONT (since NA May 2002)


head of government: Prime Minister Perry CHRISTIE (since 3 May 2002) and Deputy Prime Minister Cynthia PRATT (since 7 May 2002)


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 NA (2001) transhipments of 29,000 bbl/day (2003)
Exports - commodities sugar 63%, rum and molasses 4%, perfume essences 2%, lobster 3%, (1993) mineral products and salt, animal products, rum, chemicals; fruit and vegetables
Exports - partners France 74%, Japan 6%, Comoros 4% (2000) US 40.2%, Poland 13.3%, Spain 11.6%, Germany 5.9%, France 4.3% (2004)
Fiscal year calendar year 1 July - 30 June
Flag description the flag of France is used three equal horizontal bands of aquamarine (top), gold, and aquamarine, with a black equilateral triangle based on the hoist side
GDP purchasing power parity - $4.348 billion (2003 est.) -
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 8%


industry: 19%


services: 73% (2000 est.)
agriculture: 3%


industry: 7%


services: 90% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $5,800 (2001 est.) purchasing power parity - $17,700 (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 2.5% (2003 est.) 3% (2004 est.)
Geographic coordinates 21 06 S, 55 36 E 24 15 N, 76 00 W
Geography - note this mountainous, volcanic island has an active volcano, Piton de la Fournaise; there is a tropical cyclone center at Saint-Denis, which is the monitoring station for the whole of the Indian Ocean strategic location adjacent to US and Cuba; extensive island chain of which 30 are inhabited
Heliports - 1 (2004 est.)
Highways total: 2,724 km


paved: 1,300 km (including 73 km of four-lane road)


unpaved: 1,424 km (1994)
total: 2,693 km


paved: 1,546 km


unpaved: 1,147 km (1999 est.)
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 cocaine and marijuana bound for US and Europe; offshore financial center
Imports NA (2001) NA
Imports - commodities manufactured goods, food, beverages, tobacco, machinery and transportation equipment, raw materials, and petroleum products machinery and transport equipment, manufactures, chemicals, mineral fuels; food and live animals
Imports - partners France 64%, Bahrain 3%, Germany 3%, Italy 3% (2000) US 22.4%, South Korea 18.9%, Brazil 9.2%, Japan 7.9%, Italy 7.8%, Venezuela 6.6% (2004)
Independence none (overseas department of France) 10 July 1973 (from UK)
Industrial production growth rate NA NA
Industries sugar, rum, cigarettes, handicraft items, flower oil extraction tourism, banking, cement, oil transshipment, salt, rum, aragonite, pharmaceuticals, spiral-welded steel pipe
Infant mortality rate total: 7.95 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 8.71 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 7.17 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
total: 25.21 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 31.02 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 19.28 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) NA 1.2% (year ending September 2004)
International organization participation InOC, UPU, WFTU ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOM, IOC, ITU, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)
Irrigated land 120 sq km (1998 est.) NA
Judicial branch Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel Supreme Court; Court of Appeal; magistrates courts
Labor force 309,900 (2000) 156,000 (1999)
Labor force - by occupation agriculture 13%, industry 12%, services 75% (2000) agriculture 5%, industry 5%, tourism 50%, other services 40% (1999 est.)
Land boundaries 0 km 0 km
Land use arable land: 13.6%


permanent crops: 1.2%


other: 85.2% (2001)
arable land: 0.8%


permanent crops: 0.4%


other: 98.8% (2001)
Languages French (official), Creole widely used English (official), Creole (among Haitian immigrants)
Legal system French law based on English common law
Legislative branch unicameral General Council (49 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve six-year terms) and a unicameral Regional Council (45 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve six-year terms)


elections: General Council - last held 15 and 22 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2004); Regional Council - last held 28 March 2004 (next to be held NA 2010)


election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - various right-wing candidates 13, PCR 10, PS 10, UDF 8, RPR 6, other left-wing candidates 2; Regional Council (second round) - percent of vote by party - PCR 44.9%, UMP 32.8%, PS-Greens 22.3%; seats by party - PCR 27, UMP 11, PS-Greens 7


note: Reunion elects three representatives to the French Senate; elections last held NA 2001 (next to be held NA 2006); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; Reunion also elects five deputies to the French National Assembly; elections last held 9 June-16 June 2002 (next to be held NA 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - UMP-RPR 1, UMP 1, PCR 1
bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (16-member body appointed by the governor general upon the advice of the prime minister and the opposition leader for five-year terms) and the House of Assembly (40 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 1 May 2002 (next to be held by May 2007)


election results: percent of vote by party - PLP 50.8%, FNM 41.1%, independents 5.2%; seats by party - PLP 29, FNM 7, independents 4
Life expectancy at birth total population: 73.69 years


male: 70.29 years


female: 77.26 years (2004 est.)
total population: 65.54 years


male: 62.11 years


female: 69.04 years (2005 est.)
Literacy definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 88.9%


male: 87%


female: 90.8% (2003 est.)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 95.6%


male: 94.7%


female: 96.5% (2003 est.)
Location Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar Caribbean, chain of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of Florida, northeast of Cuba
Map references World Central America and the Caribbean
Maritime claims territorial sea: 12 nm


exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm


exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Merchant marine total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 28,264 GRT/44,885 DWT


by type: chemical tanker 1


foreign-owned: Sweden 1


registered in other countries: 1
total: 1,119


by type: barge carrier 2, bulk carrier 183, cargo 259, chemical tanker 54, combination ore/oil 17, container 74, liquefied gas 28, livestock carrier 2, passenger 116, passenger/cargo 40, petroleum tanker 168, refrigerated cargo 130, roll on/roll off 20, specialized tanker 2, vehicle carrier 24


foreign-owned: 968 (Angola 4, Australia 4, Belgium 17, Canada 9, China 3, Croatia 1, Cuba 1, Cyprus 13, Denmark 18, Estonia 1, Finland 7, France 28, Germany 15, Greece 194, Hong Kong 11, Indonesia 2, Ireland 1, Israel 1, Italy 7, Japan 49, Jordan 2, Kenya 1, Latvia 1, Malaysia 12, Monaco 15, Netherlands 24, New Zealand 1, Nigeria 2, Norway 229, Poland 13, Reunion 1, Russia 2, Saudi Arabia 12, Serbia & Montenegro 2, Singapore 11, Slovenia 1, South Korea 1, Spain 6, Sweden 9, Switzerland 4, Thailand 1, Trinidad & Tobago 2, Turkey 7, UAE 12, United Kingdom 55, United States 154, Uruguay 2)


registered in other countries: 35 (2005)
Military - note defense is the responsibility of France -
Military branches no regular indigenous military forces; French forces (including Army, Navy, Air Force, and Gendarmerie) Royal Bahamaian Defense Force (naval forces) (2004)
Military expenditures - dollar figure - NA
Military expenditures - percent of GDP - NA
Military manpower - availability males age 15-49: 202,385 (2004 est.) -
Military manpower - fit for military service males age 15-49: 103,073 (2004 est.) -
Military manpower - reaching military age annually males: 7,070 (2004 est.) -
National holiday Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) Independence Day, 10 July (1973)
Nationality noun: Reunionese (singular and plural)


adjective: Reunionese
noun: Bahamian(s)


adjective: Bahamian
Natural hazards periodic, devastating cyclones (December to April); Piton de la Fournaise on the southeastern coast is an active volcano hurricanes and other tropical storms cause extensive flood and wind damage
Natural resources fish, arable land, hydropower salt, aragonite, timber, arable land
Net migration rate 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) -2.18 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Political parties and leaders Communist Party of Reunion or PCR [Paul VERGES]; Rally for the Republic or RPR [Andre Maurice PIHOUEE]; Socialist Party or PS [Jean-Claude FRUTEAU]; Union for French Democracy or UDF [Gilbert GERARD]; Union for a Popular Movement or UMP [leader NA] Free National Movement or FNM [Tommy TURNQUEST]; Progressive Liberal Party or PLP [Perry CHRISTIE]
Political pressure groups and leaders NA NA
Population 766,153 (July 2004 est.) 301,790


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 2005 est.)
Population below poverty line NA NA
Population growth rate 1.42% (2004 est.) 0.67% (2005 est.)
Ports and harbors Le Port, Pointe des Galets Freeport, Nassau, South Riding Point
Radio broadcast stations AM 2, FM 55, shortwave 0 (2001) AM 3, FM 5, shortwave 0 (2004)
Religions Roman Catholic 86%, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist (1995) 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: 1.05 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female


total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2004 est.)
at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female


total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal 18 years of age; universal
Telephone system general assessment: adequate system; principal center is Saint-Denis


domestic: modern open-wire and microwave radio relay network


international: country code - 262; radiotelephone communication to Comoros, France, Madagascar; new microwave route to Mauritius; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean); fiber optic submarine cable (SAT-3/WASC/SAFE) provides connectivity to Europe and Asia
general assessment: modern facilities


domestic: totally automatic system; highly developed


international: country code - 1-242; tropospheric scatter and submarine cable to Florida; 3 coaxial submarine cables; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (1997)
Telephones - main lines in use 300,000 est (2001) 131,700 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular 489,800 (2002) 121,800 (2002)
Television broadcast stations 35 (plus 18 low-power repeaters) (2001) 2 (2004)
Terrain mostly rugged and mountainous; fertile lowlands along coast long, flat coral formations with some low rounded hills
Total fertility rate 2.5 children born/woman (2004 est.) 2.2 children born/woman (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate 36% (1999 est.) 10.2% (2004 est.)
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