West Bank (2007) | Bahamas, The (2002) | |
Administrative divisions | - | 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: 42.4% (male 551,243/female 524,800)
15-64 years: 54.2% (male 704,209/female 670,382) 65 years and over: 3.4% (male 36,175/female 49,118) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years: 29% (male 43,964; female 43,250)
15-64 years: 64.7% (male 95,508; female 98,859) 65 years and over: 6.3% (male 7,948; female 11,000) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | olives, citrus, vegetables; beef, dairy products | citrus, vegetables; poultry |
Airports | 3 (2007) | 67 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
total: 30
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 12 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 34 35
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 9 under 914 m: 3 23 (2002) |
Area | total: 5,860 sq km
land: 5,640 sq km water: 220 sq km note: includes West Bank, Latrun Salient, and the northwest quarter of the Dead Sea, but excludes Mt. Scopus; East Jerusalem and Jerusalem No Man's Land are also included only as a means of depicting the entire area occupied by Israel in 1967 |
total: 13,940 sq km
land: 10,070 sq km water: 3,870 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Delaware | slightly smaller than Connecticut |
Background | The Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements (the DOP), signed in Washington in September 1993, provided for a transitional period of Palestinian interim self-government in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. A transfer of authority to the Palestinian Authority (PA) for the Gaza Strip and Jericho took place pursuant to the Israel-PLO 4 May 1994 Cairo Agreement on the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area and, in additional areas of the West Bank, pursuant to the Israel-PLO 28 September 1995 Interim Agreement, the Israel-PLO 15 January 1997 Protocol Concerning Redeployment in Hebron, the Israel-PLO 23 October 1998 Wye River Memorandum, and the 4 September 1999 Sharm el-Sheikh Agreement. Direct negotiations to determine the permanent status of Gaza and the West Bank began in September 1999 after a three-year hiatus, but were derailed by a second intifadah that broke out a year later. In April 2003, the Quartet (US, EU, UN, and Russia) presented a roadmap to a final settlement of the conflict by 2005 based on reciprocal steps by the two parties leading to two states, Israel and a democratic Palestine. The proposed date for a permanent status agreement has been postponed indefinitely due to violence and accusations that both sides have not followed through on their commitments. Following Palestinian leader Yasir ARAFAT's death in late 2004, Mahmud ABBAS was elected PA president in January 2005. A month later, Israel and the PA agreed to the Sharm el-Sheikh Commitments in an effort to move the peace process forward. In September 2005, Israel withdrew all its settlers and soldiers and dismantled its military facilities in the Gaza Strip and four northern West Bank settlements. Nonetheless, Israel controls maritime, airspace, and most access to the Gaza Strip. A November 2005 PA-Israeli agreement authorized the reopening of the Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt under joint PA and Egyptian control. In January 2006, the Islamic Resistance Movement, HAMAS, won control of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC). The international community has refused to accept the HAMAS-led government because it does not recognize Israel, will not renounce violence, and refuses to honor previous peace agreements between Israel and the PA. Since March 2006, President ABBAS has had little success negotiating with HAMAS to present a political platform acceptable to the international community so as to lift the economic siege on Palestinians. The PLC was unable to convene in late 2006 as a result of Israel's detention of many HAMAS PLC members and Israeli-imposed travel restrictions on other PLC members. | 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 | 30.99 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 18.69 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $1.23 billion
expenditures: $1.64 billion (2005) |
revenues: $918.5 million
expenditures: $956.5 million, including capital expenditures of $106.7 million (FY99/00) |
Capital | - | Nassau |
Climate | temperate; temperature and precipitation vary with altitude, warm to hot summers, cool to mild winters | tropical marine; moderated by warm waters of Gulf Stream |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 3,542 km |
Constitution | - | 10 July 1973 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: West Bank |
conventional long form: Commonwealth of The Bahamas
conventional short form: The Bahamas |
Currency | - | Bahamian dollar (BSD) |
Death rate | 3.85 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 7.49 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $381.9 million (2000) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | - | chief of mission: Ambassador J. Richard BLANKENSHIP
embassy: 42 Queen Street, Nassau mailing address: local or express mail address: P. O. Box N-8197, Nassau; stateside address: American Embassy Nassau, P. O. Box 599009, Miami, FL 33159-9009; pouch address: Nassau, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-3370 telephone: [1] (242) 322-1181, 328-2206 FAX: [1] (242) 356-0222 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | - | 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 | West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli-occupied with current status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent status to be determined through further negotiation; Israel continues construction of a "seam line" separation barrier along parts of the Green Line and within the West Bank; Israel withdrew from four settlements in the northern West Bank in August 2005; since 1948, about 350 peacekeepers from the UN Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO), headquartered in Jerusalem, monitor ceasefires, supervise armistice agreements, prevent isolated incidents from escalating, and assist other UN personnel in the region | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $1.102 billion; (includes Gaza Strip) (2005) | $9.8 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | The West Bank - the larger of the two areas under the Palestinian Authority (PA) - has experienced a general decline in economic conditions since the second intifadah began in September 2000. The downturn has been largely the result of Israeli closure policies - the imposition of border closures in response to security incidents in Israel - which disrupted labor and trading relationships. In 2001, and even more severely in 2002, Israeli military measures in PA areas resulted in the destruction of capital, the disruption of administrative structures, and widespread business closures. International aid of at least $1.14 billion to the West Bank and Gaza Strip in 2004 prevented the complete collapse of the economy and allowed some reforms in the government's financial operations. In 2005, high unemployment and limited trade opportunities - due to continued closures both within the West Bank and externally - stymied growth. Israel's and the international community's financial embargo of the PA since HAMAS took office in March 2006 has interrupted the provision of PA social services and the payment of PA salaries. | 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 almost half of the archipelago's labor force. Steady growth in tourism receipts and a boom in construction of new hotels, resorts, and residences have led to solid GDP growth in recent years. 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 the majority of tourist visitors. |
Electricity - consumption | NA kWh | 1.432 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | NA kWh | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | NA kWh; note - most electricity imported from Israel; East Jerusalem Electric Company buys and distributes electricity to Palestinians in East Jerusalem and its concession in the West Bank; the Israel Electric Company directly supplies electricity to most Jewish residents and military facilities; some Palestinian municipalities, such as Nablus and Janin, generate their own electricity from small power plants | 1.54 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m
highest point: Tall Asur 1,022 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Alvernia, on Cat Island 63 m |
Environment - current issues | adequacy of fresh water supply; sewage treatment | 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, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Palestinian Arab and other 83%, Jewish 17% | black 85%, white 12%, Asian and Hispanic 3% |
Exchange rates | new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.4565 (2006), 4.4877 (2005), 4.482 (2004), 4.5541 (2003), 4.7378 (2002) | Bahamian dollars per US dollar - 1.000 (fixed rate pegged to the dollar) |
Executive branch | - | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General 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 | $301 million f.o.b.; (includes Gaza Strip) (2005) | $535.8 million (2000) |
Exports - commodities | olives, fruit, vegetables, limestone | fish and crawfish; rum, salt, chemicals; fruit and vegetables (1999) |
Exports - partners | Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip (2006) | US 28.2%, France 16.5%, Germany 14.1%, UK 12.4% (2000) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 July - 30 June |
Flag description | - | three equal horizontal bands of aquamarine (top), gold, and aquamarine, with a black equilateral triangle based on the hoist side |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $5 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 8%
industry: 18.2% services: 73.9% (includes Gaza Strip) (2005 est.) |
agriculture: 3%
industry: 7% services: 90% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $16,800 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.9% (includes Gaza Strip) (2005 est.) | 3.5% (2001) |
Geographic coordinates | 32 00 N, 35 15 E | 24 15 N, 76 00 W |
Geography - note | landlocked; highlands are main recharge area for Israel's coastal aquifers; there are 242 West Bank settlements and 29 East Jerusalem settlements in addition to at least 20 occupied outposts (August 2005 est.) | strategic location adjacent to US and Cuba; extensive island chain of which 30 are inhabited |
Heliports | - | 1 (2002) |
Highways | - | total: 2,693 km
paved: 1,546 km unpaved: 1,147 km (1997) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | - | transshipment point for cocaine and marijuana bound for US and Europe; offshore financial center |
Imports | $2.44 billion c.i.f.; (includes Gaza Strip) (2005) | $1.88 billion (2000) |
Imports - commodities | food, consumer goods, construction materials | machinery and transport equipment, manufactures, chemicals, mineral fuels; food and live animals (1999) |
Imports - partners | Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip (2006) | US 31.6%, South Korea 18.2%, Italy 17.4%, Japan 5.8% (2000) |
Independence | - | 10 July 1973 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 2.4% (includes Gaza Strip) (2005) | NA% |
Industries | generally small family businesses that produce cement, textiles, soap, olive-wood carvings, and mother-of-pearl souvenirs; the Israelis have established some small-scale, modern industries in the settlements and industrial centers | tourism, banking, cement, oil refining and transshipment, salt, rum, aragonite, pharmaceuticals, spiral-welded steel pipe |
Infant mortality rate | total: 18.67 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 20.59 deaths/1,000 live births female: 16.64 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
17.08 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.9% (includes Gaza Strip) (2005) | 1.5% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | - | ACP, C, Caricom, CCC, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 19 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 150 sq km; note - includes Gaza Strip (2003) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | - | Supreme Court; Court of Appeal; magistrates courts |
Labor force | 568,000 (2005) | 156,000 (1999) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 16%
industry: 29% services: 55% (2005) |
tourism 40%, other services 50%, industry 5%, agriculture 5% (1995 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 404 km
border countries: Israel 307 km, Jordan 97 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 16.9%
permanent crops: 18.97% other: 64.13% (2001) |
arable land: 0.6%
permanent crops: 0.4% other: 99% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians), English (widely understood) | English, Creole (among Haitian immigrants) |
Legal system | - | based on English common law |
Legislative branch | - | 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)
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: 73.46 years
male: 71.68 years female: 75.35 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 69.87 years
male: 66.32 years female: 73.49 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 92.4% male: 96.7% female: 88% (2004 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98.2% male: 98.5% female: 98% (1995 est.) |
Location | Middle East, west of Jordan | Caribbean, chain of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of Florida |
Map references | Middle East | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | - | total: 1,076 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 31,309,187 GRT/45,859,485 DWT
ships by type: bulk 159, cargo 246, chemical tanker 41, combination bulk 13, combination ore/oil 22, container 80, liquefied gas 28, livestock carrier 2, multi-functional large-load carrier 8, passenger 88, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 178, railcar carrier 1, refrigerated cargo 120, roll on/roll off 49, short-sea passenger 16, specialized tanker 2, vehicle carrier 22 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Angola 1, Argentina 1, Australia 4, Belgium 18, Bermuda 1, Canada 5, Chile 1, China 3, Croatia 2, Cuba 3, Cyprus 2, Denmark 27, Ecuador 1, Estonia 2, Finland 9, France 15, Germany 26, Greece 173, Hong Kong 6, India 2, Indonesia 2, Ireland 1, Israel 3, Italy 9, Jamaica 1, Japan 32, Kenya 3, Malaysia 10, Malta 2, Monaco 67, Netherlands 32, New Zealand 2, Norway 237, Panama 2, Philippines 3, Poland 13, Reunion 1, Russia 6, Saudi Arabia 9, Singapore 13, Slovenia 1, South Korea 2, Spain 7, Sweden 12, Switzerland 8, Thailand 1, Trinidad and Tobago 2, Turkey 2, Ukraine 2, United Arab Emirates 10, United Kingdom 107, United States 159, Uruguay 1 (2002 est.) |
Military branches | - | Royal Bahamas Defense Force (Coast Guard only), Royal Bahamas Police Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $20 million (FY95/96) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA | 0.7% (FY99) |
National holiday | - | Independence Day, 10 July (1973) |
Nationality | noun: NA
adjective: NA |
noun: Bahamian(s)
adjective: Bahamian |
Natural hazards | droughts | hurricanes and other tropical storms cause extensive flood and wind damage |
Natural resources | arable land | salt, aragonite, timber, arable land |
Net migration rate | 2.71 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | -2.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | - | Free National Movement or FNM [Tommy TURNQUEST]; Progressive Liberal Party or PLP [Perry CHRISTIE] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | - | NA |
Population | 2,535,927
note: in addition, there are about 187,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank and fewer than 177,000 in East Jerusalem (July 2004 est.) |
300,529
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 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 45.7% (2005) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.985% (2007 est.) | 0.86% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Freeport, Matthew Town, Nassau |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 0, FM 8, shortwave 0 (2005) | AM 3, FM 4, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | - | 215,000 (1997) |
Railways | - | 0 km |
Religions | Muslim 75% (predominantly Sunni), Jewish 17%, Christian and other 8% | Baptist 32%, Anglican 20%, Roman Catholic 19%, Methodist 6%, Church of God 6%, other Protestant 12%, none or unknown 3%, other 2% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.736 male(s)/female total population: 1.038 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | - | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: NA
domestic: Israeli company BEZEK and the Palestinian company PALTEL are responsible for fixed line services in the Gaza Strip; the Palestinian JAWAL company provides cellular services international: country code - 970 (2004) |
general assessment: modern facilities
domestic: totally automatic system; highly developed international: tropospheric scatter and submarine cable to Florida; 3 coaxial submarine cables; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (1997) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 349,000 (includes Gaza Strip) (2005) | 96,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1.095 million (includes Gaza Strip) (2005) | 6,152 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 8 (2005) | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | mostly rugged dissected upland, some vegetation in west, but barren in east | long, flat coral formations with some low rounded hills |
Total fertility rate | 4.17 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 2.28 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 20.3% (includes Gaza Strip) (2005) | 6.9% (2001 est.) |
Waterways | - | none |