"text":"Bermuda was first settled in 1609 by shipwrecked English colonists heading for Virginia. Self-governing since 1620, Bermuda is the oldest and most populous of the British overseas territories. Vacationing to the island to escape North American winters first developed in Victorian times. Tourism continues to be important to the island's economy, although international business has overtaken it in recent years. Bermuda has also developed into a highly successful offshore financial center. A referendum on independence from the UK was soundly defeated in 1995."
}
},
"Geography":{
"Location":{
"text":"North America, group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, east of South Carolina (US)"
"text":"relatively even population distribution throughout"
},
"Natural hazards":{
"text":"hurricanes (June to November)"
},
"Environment - current issues":{
"text":"dense population and heavy vehicle traffic create serious congestion and air pollution problems; water resources scarce (most obtained as rainwater or from wells); solid waste disposal; hazardous waste disposal; sewage disposal; overfishing; oil spills"
},
"Geography - note":{
"text":"consists of about 138 coral islands and islets with ample rainfall, but no rivers or freshwater lakes; some land was leased by the US Government from 1941 to 1995"
"text":"Protestant 46.2% (includes Anglican 15.8%, African Methodist Episcopal 8.6%, Seventh Day Adventist 6.7, Pentecostal 3.5%, Methodist 2.7%, Presbyterian 2.0%, Church of God 1.6%, Baptist 1.2%, Salvation Army 1.1%, Brethren 1.0%, other Protestant 2.0%), Roman Catholic 14.5%, Jehovah's Witness 1.3%, other Christian 9.1%, Muslim 1%, other 3.9%, none 17.8%, unspecified 6.2% (2010 est.)"
"text":"the islands making up Bermuda are named after Juan de BERMUDEZ, an early 16th century Spanish sea captain and the first European explorer of the archipelago"
}
},
"Dependency status":{
"text":"overseas territory of the UK"
},
"Government type":{
"text":"parliamentary democracy; self-governing overseas territory of the UK"
},
"Capital":{
"name":{
"text":"Hamilton"
},
"geographic coordinates":{
"text":"32 17 N, 64 47 W"
},
"time difference":{
"text":"UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)"
},
"daylight saving time":{
"text":"+1hr, begins second Sunday in March; ends first Sunday in November"
"text":"Cabinet nominated by the premier, appointed by the governor"
},
"elections/appointments":{
"text":"the monarchy is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition usually appointed premier by the governor"
"text":"bicameral Parliament consists of:<br />Senate (11 seats; 3 members appointed by the governor, 5 by the premier, and 3 by the opposition party; members serve 5-year terms) and the House of Assembly (36 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote to serve up to 5-year terms)<br />House of Assembly (36 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote to serve up to 5-year terms)"
"text":"<br />Senate - last appointments in August 2017 (next appointments in 2022)<br />House of Assembly - last held on 1 October 2020 (next to be held not later than 2025)"
"text":"Senate - composition - men 7, women 4, percent of women 36.4%<br />House of Assembly - percent of vote by party - PLP 62.1%, OBA 32.3%, other 5.4%, independent 0.2%; seats by party - PLP 30, OBA 6; composition - NA"
"text":"Court of Appeal (consists of the court president and at least 2 justices); Supreme Court (consists of the chief justice, 4 puisne judges, and 1 associate justice); note - the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (in London) is the court of final appeal"
},
"judge selection and term of office":{
"text":"Court of Appeal justice appointed by the governor; justice tenure by individual appointment; Supreme Court judges nominated by the Judicial and Legal Services Commission and appointed by the governor; judge tenure based on terms of appointment"
},
"subordinate courts":{
"text":"commercial court (began in 2006); magistrates' courts"
"text":"Free Democratic Movement or FDM (Marc BEAN)<br />One Bermuda Alliance or OBA (Craig CANNONIER)<br />Progressive Labor Party or PLP [Edward D. BURT]"
"text":"Consul General Mary Ellen KOENIG (since 28 November 2015)"
},
"telephone":{
"text":"(441) 295-1342"
},
"embassy":{
"text":"16 Middle Road Devonshire, DV 03"
},
"mailing address":{
"text":"P. O. Box HM325, Hamilton HMBX; American Consulate General Hamilton, US Department of State, 5300 Hamilton Place, Washington, DC 20520-5300"
},
"FAX":{
"text":"[1] (441) 295-1592, 296-9233"
},
"consulate(s) general":{
"text":"Crown Hill, 16 Middle Road, Devonshire DVO3"
}
},
"Flag description":{
"text":"red, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Bermudian coat of arms (a white shield with a red lion standing on a green grassy field holding a scrolled shield showing the sinking of the ship Sea Venture off Bermuda in 1609) centered on the outer half of the flag; it was the shipwreck of the vessel, filled with English colonists originally bound for Virginia, that led to the settling of Bermuda",
"note":"<p><strong>note:</strong> serves as a local anthem; as a territory of the United Kingdom, \"God Save the Queen\" is official (see United Kingdom)</p>"
"text":"<p>International business, which consists primarily of insurance and other financial services, is the real bedrock of Bermuda's economy, consistently accounting for about 85% of the island's GDP. Tourism is the country’s second largest industry, accounting for about 5% of Bermuda's GDP but a much larger share of employment. Over 80% of visitors come from the US and the sector struggled in the wake of the global recession of 2008-09. Even the financial sector has lost roughly 5,000 high-paying expatriate jobs since 2008, weighing heavily on household consumption and retail sales. Bermuda must import almost everything. Agriculture and industry are limited due to the small size of the island.</p><p></p><p>Bermuda's economy returned to negative growth in 2016, reporting a contraction of 0.1% GDP, after growing by 0.6% in 2015. Unemployment reached 7% in 2016 and 2017, public debt is growing and exceeds $2.4 billion, and the government continues to work on attracting foreign investment. Still, Bermuda enjoys one of the highest per capita incomes in the world.</p>"
"text":"a good, fully automatic digital telephone system with fiber-optic trunk lines; telecom sector provides a relatively high contribution to overall GDP; numerous competitors licensed, but small and localized; telecom sector a growth area across the Caribbean (2020)"
},
"domestic":{
"text":"the system has a high fixed-line teledensity 35 per 100, coupled with a mobile-cellular teledensity of roughly 103 per 100 persons (2019)"
},
"international":{
"text":"country code - 1-441; landing points for the GlobeNet, Gemini Bermuda, CBUS, and the CB-1 submarine cables to the Caribbean, South America and the US; satellite earth stations - 3 (2019)"
"note":"<br><br><strong>note:</strong> the COVID-19 outbreak is negatively impacting telecommunications production and supply chains globally; consumer spending on telecom devices and services has also slowed due to the pandemic's effect on economies worldwide; overall progress towards improvements in all facets of the telecom industry - mobile, fixed-line, broadband, submarine cable and satellite - has moderated"
"text":"18-45 years of age for voluntary male or female enlistment in the Bermuda Regiment; males must register at age 18 and may be subject to conscription; term of service is 38 months for volunteers or conscripts (2012)"
