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Montserrat Country Guide

Explore Montserrat in North America

Montserrat with the capital city Plymouth is located in North America (Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea). It covers some 102 square kilometres (about 0.6 times the size of Washington, DC) with 9,341 citizens.

Interactive map of Montserrat

The topography includes volcanic island, mostly mountainous, with small coastal lowland. The average density of population is approximately 92 per km². The notable climate conditions in Montserrat can be described as tropical with little daily or seasonal temperature variation. Possible natural disasters include severe hurricanes (June to November) or volcanic eruptions.

To reach someone in Montserrat dial +1-664 prior to a number. There are 2,700 installed telephones. And there are 3,000 registered mobile phones. The cellular networks commonly support frequencies of 1800 MHz. Websites registered in this country end with the top level domain ".ms". If you want to bring electric equipment on your trip (e.g. laptop power supply), note the local power outlet of 110/220V - 60Hz.

About the flag and history of Montserrat

Montserrat Flag Icon

Blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Montserratian coat of arms centered in the outer half of the flag; the arms feature a woman in green dress, Erin, the female personification of Ireland, standing beside a yellow harp and embracing a large dark cross with her right arm; Erin and the harp are symbols of Ireland reflecting the territory's Irish ancestry; blue represents awareness, trustworthiness, determination, and righteousness.


English and Irish colonists from St. Kitts first settled on Montserrat in 1632; the first African slaves arrived three decades later. The British and French fought for possession of the island for most of the 18th century, but it finally was confirmed as a British possession in 1783. The island's sugar plantation economy was converted to small farm landholdings in the mid 19th century. Much of this island was devastated and two-thirds of the population fled abroad because of the eruption of the Soufriere Hills Volcano that began on 18 July 1995. Montserrat has endured volcanic activity since, with the last eruption occurring in July 2003.

National administrative regions of Montserrat



Geography Quick-Facts

SummaryContinent: North America
Neighbours:
Capital: Plymouth
Size102 square kilometers (km² or sqkm) or 39 square miles (mi² or sqmi)
about 0.6 times the size of Washington, DC
Population9,341
CurrencyName Dollar, Currency Code:XCD
Country Top Level Domain (cTLD).ms
Telephone Country Prefix+1-664
Mobile Phone Connections3,000
Landline Phone Connections2,700

Country Position in World Rankings

Information about single country attributes and how these compare against the rest of the world. The information below is compiled with data from 2013. As such, it may differ a bit to the Information above in the text (which is from 2010).

Geography

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Area102 (sq km)226

People and Society

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Population5,189 230
Population growth rate0.48 (%)151
Birth rate11.37 (births/1,000 population)171
Death rate6.55 (deaths/1,000 population)147
Infant mortality rate14.16 (deaths/1,000 live births)117
Life expectancy at birth73.65 (years)120
Total fertility rate1.28 (children born/woman)216
Education expenditures5.80 (% of GDP)43

Economy

Value nameValueWorld Rank
GDP (purchasing power parity)43,780,000 225
GDP - real growth rate3.50 (%)97
GDP - per capita (PPP)8,500 129
Labor force4,521 223
Unemployment rate6.00 (%)57
Inflation rate (consumer prices)3.30 (%)88
Central bank discount rate6.50 (%)53
Commercial bank prime lending rate8.56 (%)108
Stock of narrow money16,170,000 190
Stock of broad money71,330,000 191
Stock of domestic credit5,185,000 190
Exports3,600,000 218
Imports30,000,000 218
Debt - external8,900,000 197

Energy

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Electricity - production22,000,000 (kWh)212
Electricity - consumption20,460,000 (kWh)212
Electricity - installed generating capacity10,000 (kW)203
Electricity - from fossil fuels100.00 (% of total installed capacity)24
Refined petroleum products - consumption1,000 (bbl/day)202
Refined petroleum products - imports573 (bbl/day)202
Carbon dioxide emissions from consumption of energy147,100 (Mt)203

Communications

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Telephones - main lines in use2,600 216
Telephones - mobile cellular4,200 213
Internet hosts2,431 160
Internet users1,200 213

Transportation

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Airports1 225

Data based on CIA facts book 2010 & 2013, wikipedia, national statistical offices and their census releases

List of current world heritage sites

NameSince