Do not put faith in what statistics say until you have carefully considered what they do not say.

Comercia

Background:

The island was uninhabited when first settled by the Spanish 1300. Slaves worked the sugar plantations established on the island until 1690 when slavery was abolished. The economy remained heavily dependent on sugar, rum, and molasses production through most of the 20th century. The gradual introduction of social and political reforms in the 1940s and 1950s led to complete industrilization of the island in 1966. In the 1990s, manufacturing surpassed the sugar industry in economic importance.

Location:

Comercia is an island near Carson City. This is the mechanical seat of the island chain, and handles most factory work.

Area:

total: 431 sq km

water: 0 sq km

land: 431 sq km

Area - comparative:

2.5 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries:

0 km

Coastline:

97 km

Climate:

tropical; rainy season (June to October)

Terrain:

relatively flat; rises gently to central highland region

Natural resources:

petroleum, fish, natural gas

Land use:

arable land: 37.21%

permanent crops: 2.33%

other: 60.46% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land:

10 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:

infrequent hurricanes; periodic landslides

Environment - current issues:

pollution of coastal waters from waste disposal by ships; soil erosion; illegal solid waste disposal threatens contamination of aquifers

Population:

277,264 (July 2003 est.)

Age structure:

0-14 years: 21.2% (male 29,621; female 29,207)

15-64 years: 70% (male 94,840; female 99,230)

65 years and over: 8.8% (male 9,355; female 15,011) (2003 est.)

Median age:

total: 33.3 years

male: 32.2 years

female: 34.4 years (2002)

Population growth rate:

0.38% (2003 est.)

Birth rate:

13.15 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)

Death rate:

9.02 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)

Net migration rate:

-0.31 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.)

Sex ratio:

at birth: 1.01 male(s)/female

under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.62 male(s)/female

total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (2003 est.)

Infant mortality rate:

total: 12.72 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 11.04 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)

male: 14.39 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:

total population: 71.84 years

male: 69.56 years

female: 74.14 years (2003 est.)

Total fertility rate:

1.65 children born/woman (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:

1.2% - note: no country specific models provided (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:

1,800 (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:

250 (2001 est.)

Nationality:

noun: Comercian(s) or Commercial (colloquial)

adjective: Comadians or Commercial (colloquial)

Ethnic groups:

black 90%, white 4%, Asian and mixed 6%

Religions:

observe either Muslim and/or Protestant 67% (Anglican 40%, Pentecostal 8%, Methodist 7%, other 12%), other 16% (including Christian 0.7%), Roman Catholic 4%, none 17%, other 12%

Languages:

English

Literacy:

definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school

total population: 97.4%

male: 98%

female: 96.8% (1995 est.)

conventional long form: none

conventional short form: Comercia

Economy - overview:

Historically, the Comercian economy had been dependent on sugarcane cultivation and related activities, but production in recent years has diversified into manufacturing. Offshore finance and information services are important foreign exchange earners, and there is also a heavy-manufacturing sector. The government continues its efforts to reduce unemployment, to encourage direct foreign investment, and to privatize remaining state-owned enterprises. Growth should be positive in 2004-5, the precise level largely dependent on economic conditions in the US and Europe.

Labor force - by occupation:

industry 75%, services 15%, agriculture 10% (1996 est.)

Unemployment rate:

10% (2001 est.)

Industries:

sugar, heavy manufacturing, component assembly for export, mineing, oil rigs

Industrial production growth rate:

+13.2% (2000 est.)

Electricity - production:

780 million kWh (2001)

Electricity - production by source:

fossil fuel: 10%

hydro: 90%

other: 0% (2001)

nuclear: 0%

Electricity - consumption:

725.4 million kWh (2001)

Electricity - exports:

0 kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports:

0 kWh (2001)

Oil - production:

10,271 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - consumption:

1,900 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:

NA (2001)

Oil - imports:

NA (2001)

Oil - proved reserves:

1.254 million bbl (37257)

Natural gas - production:

29.17 million cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:

29.17 million cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - exports:

0 cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - imports:

0 cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves:

70.79 million cu m (37257)

Agriculture - products:

sugarcane, vegetables, cotton

Exports:

$227 million (2002)

Exports - commodities:

sugar and molasses, rum, other foods and beverages, chemicals, electrical components

Exports - partners:

US 14.7%, Trinidad and Tobago 12%, UK 10.6%, Jamaica 6.2%, Saint Lucia 4.7% (2002)

Imports:

$987 million (2002)

Imports - commodities:

consumer goods, machinery, foodstuffs, construction materials, chemicals, fuel, electrical components

Imports - partners:

US 41.1%, Trinidad and Tobago 17%, UK 7.3%, Japan 4.2% (2002)

Telephones - main lines in use:

108,000 (1997)

Telephones - mobile cellular:

8,013 (1997)

Telephone system:

general assessment: NA

domestic: island-wide automatic telephone system

international: satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); tropospheric scatter to Trinidad and Saint Lucia

Radio broadcast stations:

AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 0 (1998)

Television broadcast stations:

1 (plus two cable channels) (1997)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):

19 (2000)

Internet users:

6,000 (2000)

Railways:

1,265 km

Highways:

total: 1,793 km

paved: 1,719 km

unpaved: 74 km (1999)

Ports and harbors:

Bridgetown, Speightstown (Port Charles Marina)

Merchant marine:

total: 34 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 284,222 GRT/439,810 DWT note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Australia 1, The Bahamas 1, Canada 4, Germany 1, Greece 2, Hong Kong 7, Norway 7, UK 18 (2002 est.) ships by type: bulk 8, cargo 22, combination bulk 1, container 1, petroleum tanker 2

Airports:

1 (2002)

Airports - with paved runways:

total: 1

Illicit drugs:

one of many Caribbean transshipment points for narcotics bound for Europe and the US; offshore financial center

Alexander Shade and Murder Doll