Bahamas, The (2001) | Grenada (2003) | |
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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, Nicholls Town and Berry Islands, Ragged Island, Rock Sound, Sandy Point, San Salvador and Rum Cay | 6 parishes and 1 dependency*; Carriacou and Petit Martinique*, Saint Andrew, Saint David, Saint George, Saint John, Saint Mark, Saint Patrick |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
29.43% (male 44,179; female 43,486) 15-64 years: 64.46% (male 94,329; female 97,674) 65 years and over: 6.11% (male 7,618; female 10,566) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 35.1% (male 15,840; female 15,492)
15-64 years: 61.3% (male 28,941; female 25,735) 65 years and over: 3.6% (male 1,502; female 1,748) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | citrus, vegetables; poultry | bananas, cocoa, nutmeg, mace, citrus, avocados, root crops, sugarcane, corn, vegetables |
Airports | 65 (2000 est.) | 3 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
36 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 16 914 to 1,523 m: 13 under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
29 914 to 1,523 m: 6 under 914 m: 23 (2000 est.) |
- |
Area | total:
13,940 sq km land: 10,070 sq km water: 3,870 sq km |
total: 344 sq km
land: 344 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Connecticut | twice the size of Washington, DC |
Background | 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. | One of the smallest independent countries in the western hemisphere, Grenada was seized by a Marxist military council on 19 October 1983. Six days later the island was invaded by US forces and those of six other Caribbean nations, which quickly captured the ringleaders and their hundreds of Cuban advisers. Free elections were reinstituted the following year. |
Birth rate | 19.1 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 22.87 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$766 million expenditures: $845 million, including capital expenditures of $97 million (FY97/98) |
revenues: $85.8 million
expenditures: $102.1 million, including capital expenditures of $28 million (1997) |
Capital | Nassau | Saint George's |
Climate | tropical marine; moderated by warm waters of Gulf Stream | tropical; tempered by northeast trade winds |
Coastline | 3,542 km | 121 km |
Constitution | 10 July 1973 | 19 December 1973 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Commonwealth of The Bahamas conventional short form: The Bahamas |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Grenada |
Currency | Bahamian dollar (BSD) | East Caribbean dollar (XCD) |
Death rate | 7.14 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 7.46 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $385.8 million (2000 est.) | $196 million (2000) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador-designate J. Richard BLANKENSHIP embassy: 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 |
chief of mission: the ambassador to Barbados is accredited to Grenada
embassy: Point Salines, Saint George's mailing address: P. O. Box 54, Saint George's, Grenada, West Indies telephone: [1] (473) 444-1173 through 1176 FAX: [1] (473) 444-4820 |
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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Denis G. ANTOINE
chancery: 1701 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 265-2561 FAX: [1] (202) 265-2468 consulate(s) general: New York |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $9.8 million (1995) | $8.3 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | 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 40% of the archipelago's labor force. Moderate growth in tourism receipts and a boom in construction of new hotels, resorts, and residences led to an increase of the country's GDP by an estimated 3% in 1998, 6% in 1999, and 4.5% in 2000. Manufacturing and agriculture together contribute only 10% of GDP and show little growth, despite government incentives aimed at those sectors. Overall growth prospects in the short run will depend heavily on the fortunes of the tourism sector and continued sturdy growth in the US, which accounts for the majority of tourist visitors. | Grenada relies on tourism as its main source of foreign exchange, especially since the construction of an international airport in 1985. Strong performances in construction and manufacturing, together with the development of an offshore financial industry, have also contributed to growth in national output. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.362 billion kWh (1999) | 128.3 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 1.465 billion kWh (1999) | 138 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Alvernia, on Cat Island 63 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Saint Catherine 840 m |
Environment - current issues | coral reef decay; solid waste disposal | NA |
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 |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | black 85%, white 12%, Asian and Hispanic 3% | black 82%, mixed black and European 13%, European and East Indian 5% , and trace of Arawak/Carib Amerindian |
Exchange rates | Bahamian dollars per US dollar - 1.000 (fixed rate pegged to the dollar) | East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7 (2002), 2.7 (2001), 2.7 (2000), 2.7 (1999), 2.7 (1998) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Sir Orville TURNQUEST (since 2 January 1995) head of government: Prime Minister Hubert Alexander INGRAHAM (since 19 August 1992) and Deputy Prime Minister Frank WATSON (since December 1994) 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; prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed by the governor general |
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Daniel WILLIAMS (since 9 August 1996)
head of government: Prime Minister Keith MITCHELL (since 22 June 1995) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister 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 |
Exports | $376.8 million (2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | pharmaceuticals, cement, rum, crawfish, refined petroleum products | bananas, cocoa, nutmeg, fruit and vegetables, clothing, mace |
Exports - partners | US 22.3%, Switzerland 15.6%, UK 15%, Denmark 7.4% (1998) | Germany 14%, US 13.6%, Bangladesh 9.7%, Netherlands 8.6%, Saint Lucia 6.4%, Antigua and Barbuda 4.3%, France 4.1% (2002) |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of aquamarine (top), gold, and aquamarine, with a black equilateral triangle based on the hoist side | a rectangle divided diagonally into yellow triangles (top and bottom) and green triangles (hoist side and outer side), with a red border around the flag; there are seven yellow, five-pointed stars with three centered in the top red border, three centered in the bottom red border, and one on a red disk superimposed at the center of the flag; there is also a symbolic nutmeg pod on the hoist-side triangle (Grenada is the world's second-largest producer of nutmeg, after Indonesia); the seven stars represent the seven administrative divisions |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $4.5 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $440 million (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
3% industry: 7% services: 90% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 7.7%
industry: 23.9% services: 68.4% (2000) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $15,000 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $5,000 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.5% (2000 est.) | 2.5% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 24 15 N, 76 00 W | 12 07 N, 61 40 W |
Geography - note | strategic location adjacent to US and Cuba; extensive island chain | the administration of the islands of the Grenadines group is divided between Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada |
Heliports | 1 (2000 est.) | - |
Highways | total:
2,693 km paved: 1,546 km unpaved: 1,147 km (1997) |
total: 1,040 km
paved: 638 km unpaved: 402 km (1999 est.) |
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; banking industry vulnerable to money laundering | small-scale cannabis cultivation; lesser transshipment point for marijuana and cocaine to US |
Imports | $1.73 billion (2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, manufactured goods, crude oil, vehicles, electronics | food, manufactured goods, machinery, chemicals, fuel |
Imports - partners | US 27.3%, Italy 26.5%, Japan 10%, Denmark 4.2% (1998) | US 30.7%, Trinidad and Tobago 27.3%, UK 4.4% (2002) |
Independence | 10 July 1973 (from UK) | 7 February 1974 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 0.7% (1997 est.) |
Industries | tourism, banking, cement, oil refining and transshipment, salt, rum, aragonite, pharmaceuticals, spiral-welded steel pipe | food and beverages, textiles, light assembly operations, tourism, construction |
Infant mortality rate | 17.03 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 14.63 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 14.18 deaths/1,000 live births female: 15.07 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.9% (2000 est.) | 2.8% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, C, Caricom, CCC, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO (observer) | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 19 (2000) | 14 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Court of Appeal; magistrates courts | West Indies Associate States Supreme Court (an associate judge resides in Grenada) |
Labor force | 156,000 (1999) | 42,300 (1996) |
Labor force - by occupation | tourism 40%, other services 50%, industry 5%, agriculture 5% (1995 est.) | services 62%, agriculture 24%, industry 14% (1999 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land:
1% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 32% other: 67% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 5.88%
permanent crops: 26.47% other: 67.65% (1998 est.) |
Languages | English, Creole (among Haitian immigrants) | English (official), French patois |
Legal system | based on English common law | 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 14 March 1997 (next to be held by March 2002) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - FNM 35, PLP 5 |
bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (a 13-member body, 10 appointed by the government and three by the leader of the opposition) and the House of Representatives (15 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held on 27 November 2003 (next to be held by NA November 2008) election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NNP 8, NDC 7 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
70.46 years male: 67.27 years female: 73.71 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 64.52 years
male: 62.74 years female: 66.31 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98.2% male: 98.5% female: 98% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98% male: 98% female: 98% (1970 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, chain of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of Florida | Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | continental shelf:
200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total:
1,049 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 30,000,221 GRT/44,601,471 DWT ships by type: bulk 185, cargo 214, chemical tanker 36, combination bulk 15, combination ore/oil 22, container 66, liquefied gas 33, livestock carrier 1, multi-functional large-load carrier 4, passenger 79, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 182, railcar carrier 1, refrigerated cargo 118, roll on/roll off 50, short-sea passenger 15, specialized tanker 3, vehicle carrier 24 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Algeria 2, Australia 1, Austria 1, Bermuda 6, Belgium 14, Canada 1, Cuba 1, Cyprus 2, Denmark 17, Finland 7, France 9, Germany 9, Greece 89, Hong Kong 7, Indonesia 2, India 1, Israel 4, Italy 8, Japan 23, Jamaica 1, Kenya 1, Lebanon 2, Luxembourg 2, Monaco 15, Malaysia 1, Netherlands 16, Norway 139, Poland 3, Portugal 2, Russia 2, Saudi Arabia 5, Singapore 12, Spain 7, Sweden 14, Syria 1, Switzerland 7, UAE 1, Trinidad and Tobago 2, UK 67, Ukraine 3, US 50, British Virgin Islands 1, British Virgin Islands 1 (2000 est.) |
none (2002 est.) |
Military branches | Royal Bahamas Defense Force (Coast Guard only), Royal Bahamas Police Force | Royal Grenada Police Force, Coast Guard |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $20 million (FY95/96) | $NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | NA% |
National holiday | Independence Day, 10 July (1973) | Independence Day, 7 February (1974) |
Nationality | noun:
Bahamian(s) adjective: Bahamian |
noun: Grenadian(s)
adjective: Grenadian |
Natural hazards | hurricanes and other tropical storms that cause extensive flood and wind damage | lies on edge of hurricane belt; hurricane season lasts from June to November |
Natural resources | salt, aragonite, timber, arable land | timber, tropical fruit, deepwater harbors |
Net migration rate | -2.65 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -14.56 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Free National Movement or FNM [Hubert Alexander INGRAHAM]; Progressive Liberal Party or PLP [Perry CHRISTIE] | Grenada United Labor Party or GULP [Herbert PREUDHOMME]; National Democratic Congress or NDC [leader vacant]; New National Party or NNP [George McGUIRE]; People Labor Movement or PLM [leader NA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 297,852
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 2001 est.) |
89,258 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 32% (2000) |
Population growth rate | 0.93% (2001 est.) | 0.08% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Freeport, Matthew Town, Nassau | Grenville, Saint George's |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 3, FM 4, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 2, FM 13, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 215,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | 0 km |
Religions | Baptist 32%, Anglican 20%, Roman Catholic 19%, Methodist 6%, Church of God 6%, other Protestant 12%, none or unknown 3%, other 2% | Roman Catholic 53%, Anglican 13.8%, other Protestant 33.2% |
Sex ratio | 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 (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.12 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.86 male(s)/female total population: 1.08 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | 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) |
general assessment: automatic, islandwide telephone system
domestic: interisland VHF and UHF radiotelephone links international: new SHF radiotelephone links to Trinidad and Tobago and Saint Vincent; VHF and UHF radio links to Trinidad |
Telephones - main lines in use | 96,000 (1997) | 27,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 6,152 (1997) | 976 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 2 (1997) |
Terrain | long, flat coral formations with some low rounded hills | volcanic in origin with central mountains |
Total fertility rate | 2.3 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.45 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 9% (1998 est.) | 12.5% (2000) |
Waterways | none | none |