1982 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1982 (Wikisource)
Geography
Area
54.4 km2; 8% arable, 60% forested, 21% built on, wasteland, and other, 11% leased for air and naval bases WATER
Coastline
103 km
Limits of territorial waters (claimed)
3 nm (fishing 200 nm)
People and Society
Ethnic divisions
approximately 61% black, 39% white
Labor force
29,669 employed (1980)
Language
English
Literacy
98%
Nationality
noun—Bermudian(s); adjective—Bermudian
Population
72,000 (July 1982), average annual growth rate 2.6%
Religion
37% Church of England, 19% other Protestant, 14% Catholic, 30% other
Government
Branches
Executive Council (cabinet) appointed by governor, led by government leader; bicameral legislature with an appointed Legislative Council and a 40-member directly elected House of Assembly; Supreme Court
Capital
Hamilton
Communists
negligible
Elections
at least once every five years; last general election, December 1980 Political parties and leaders: United Bermuda Party (UBP), J. David Gibbons; Progressive Labor Party (PLP), Lois Browne-Evans Voting strength (1980 elections): UBP 54%, PLP 46%; the UBP holds 22 House of Assembly seats, the PLP holds 18 seats
Government leaders
Governor Sir Richard POSNETT; Premier John William David SWAN
Legal system
English law
Official name
Bermuda
Other political or pressure groups
Bermuda Industrial Union (BIU) headed by Ottiwell Simmons
Political subdivisions
9 parishes
Suffrage
universal over age 21
Type
British colony
Economy
Agriculture
main products—bananas, vegetables, Easter lilies, dairy products, citrus fruits
Aid
economic—bilateral commitments, including Ex-Im (1970-80), from US $34 million; from Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF (FY70-79), $109 million; no military aid
Budget
revenues, $132 million; expenditures $132 million; (FY81/82)
Electric power
110,000 kW capacity (1981); 355 million kWh produced (1981), 5,460 kWh per capita
Exports
$31 million (f.o.b., 1979); mostly reexports of drugs and bunker fuel
Fiscal year
1 April-31 March
GDP
$598 million (FY79/80), $10,894 per capita; real growth rate FY79/80, est. 3%
Imports
$234 million (f.o.b., 1979); fuel, foodstuffs, machinery
Major industries
tourism, finance
Major trade partners
imports, 50% US; tourists, 90% US
Monetary conversion rate
1 Bermuda dollar=US$1
Communications
Airfields
1 with permanent-surface runways 2,440-3,659 m
Civil air
4 major transport aircraft
Highways
190 km, all paved
Ports
3 major (Hamilton, St. George Freeport, Ireland Island)
Railroads
none
Telecommunications
modern telecom system, includes fully automatic telephone system with 39,500 sets (63.7 per 100 popl.); 3 AM, 1 FM, and 2 TV stations; 3 coaxial submarine cables; 1 Atlantic Ocean satellite station