]! ^! 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. 
]" ^" Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, southeast of Puerto Rico ^# 16 45 N, 62 12 W ^$ Central America and the Caribbean ^% `! 102 sq km `" 102 sq km `# 0 sq km ^& about 0.6 times the size of Washington, DC ^' 0 km ^( 40 km ^) `$ 3 nm `a 200 nm ^* tropical; little daily or seasonal temperature variation ^+ volcanic island, mostly mountainous, with small coastal lowland ^, `% Caribbean Sea 0 m `& Chances Peak (in the Soufriere Hills volcanic complex) 914 m ^- NEGL ^. `' 20% `( 0% `) 80% (2001) ^/ NA sq km ^0 severe hurricanes (June to November); volcanic eruptions (Soufriere Hills volcano has erupted continuously since 1995) ^1 land erosion occurs on slopes that have been cleared for cultivation ^2 the island is entirely volcanic in origin and contains seven active volcanoes 
]# ^3 9,341 note: an estimated 8,000 refugees left the island following the resumption of volcanic activity in July 1995; some have returned (July 2005 est.) ^4 `* 23.3% (male 1,109/female 1,072) `+ 65.6% (male 2,923/female 3,201) `, 11.1% (male 536/female 500) (2005 est.) ^5 `! 28.56 years `- 28.29 years `. 28.79 years (2005 est.) ^6 1.04% (2005 est.) ^7 17.56 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^8 7.17 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^9 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^: `/ 1.05 male(s)/female `0 1.04 male(s)/female `+ 0.91 male(s)/female `, 1.07 male(s)/female `1 0.96 male(s)/female (2005 est.) ^; `! 7.35 deaths/1,000 live births `- 8.55 deaths/1,000 live births `. 6.1 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) ^< `1 78.71 years `- 76.54 years `. 80.98 years (2005 est.) ^= 1.78 children born/woman (2005 est.) ^> NA ^? NA ^@ NA ^A `2 Montserratian(s) `3 Montserratian ^B black, white ^C Anglican, Methodist, Roman Catholic, Pentecostal, Seventh-Day Adventist, other Christian denominations ^D English ^E `M age 15 and over has ever attended school `1 97% `- 97% `. 97% (1970 est.) 
]$ ^F `4 none `5 Montserrat ^G overseas territory of the UK ^H NA ^I Plymouth (abandoned in 1997 due to volcanic activity; interim government buildings have been built at Brades Estate, in the Carr's Bay/Little Bay vicinity at the northwest end of Montserrat) ^J 3 parishes; Saint Anthony, Saint Georges, Saint Peter ^K none (overseas territory of the UK) ^L Birthday of Queen ELIZABETH II, second Saturday in June (1926) ^M effective 19 December 1989 ^N English common law and statutory law ^O 18 years of age; universal ^P `6 Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor Deborah BARNES-JONES (since 10 May 2004) `7 Chief Minister John OSBORNE (since 5 April 2001) `8 Executive Council consists of the governor, the chief minister, three other ministers, the attorney general, and the finance secretary `9 the monarch is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party usually becomes chief minister ^Q unicameral Legislative Council (11 seats, 9 popularly elected; members serve five-year terms) note: expanded in 2001 from 7 to 9 elected members with attorney general and financial secretary sitting as ex-officio members `9 last held April 2001 (next to be held by November 2006) `: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NPLM 7, NPP 2 note: in 2001, the Elections Commission instituted a single constituency/voter-at-large system whereby all eligible voters cast ballots for all nine seats of the Legislative Council ^R Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (based in Saint Lucia, one judge of the Supreme Court is a resident of the islands and presides over the High Court) ^S National Progressive Party or NPP [Reuben T. MEADE]; New People's Liberation Movement or NPLM [John A. OSBORNE] ^T NA ^U Caricom, CDB, ICFTU, Interpol (subbureau), OECS, UPU ^V none (overseas territory of the UK) ^W none (overseas territory of the UK) ^X 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 coat of arms features a woman standing beside a yellow harp with her arm around a black cross 
]% ^Y Severe volcanic activity, which began in July 1995, has put a damper on this small, open economy. A catastrophic eruption in June 1997 closed the airports and seaports, causing further economic and social dislocation. Two-thirds of the 12,000 inhabitants fled the island. Some began to return in 1998, but lack of housing limited the number. The agriculture sector continued to be affected by the lack of suitable land for farming and the destruction of crops. Prospects for the economy depend largely on developments in relation to the volcano and on public sector construction activity. The UK has launched a three-year $122.8 million aid program to help reconstruct the economy. Half of the island is expected to remain uninhabitable for another decade. ^Z $29 million (2002 est.) ^[ -1% (2002 est.) ^\ purchasing power parity - $3,400 (2002 est.) ^] `; 5.4% `< 13.6% `= 81% (1996 est.) ^^ 4,521 (lowered by flight of people from volcanic activity) (2000 est.) ^_ agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% ^` 6% (1998 est.) ^a NA _! `> NA `? NA _" 2.6% (2002 est.) _# `@ $31.4 million `A $31.6 million, including capital expenditures of $8.4 million (1997 est.) _$ cabbages, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, peppers, livestock products _% tourism, rum, textiles, electronic appliances _& NA% _' 1.8 million kWh (2002) _( 1.674 million kWh (2002) _) 0 kWh (2002) _* 0 kWh (2002) _+ 0 bbl/day (2001 est.) _, 400 bbl/day (2001 est.) _- NA _. NA _/ $700,000 (2001) _0 electronic components, plastic bags, apparel, hot peppers, live plants, cattle _1 US, Antigua and Barbuda _2 $17 million (2001) _3 machinery and transportation equipment, foodstuffs, manufactured goods, fuels, lubricants, and related materials _4 US, UK, Trinidad and Tobago, Japan, Canada _5 $8.9 million (1997) _6 Country Policy Plan (2001) is a three-year program for spending $122.8 million in British budgetary assistance (2002 est.) _7 East Caribbean dollar (XCD) _8 East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7 (2004), 2.7 (2003), 2.7 (2002), 2.7 (2001), 2.7 (2000) note: fixed rate since 1976 _9 1 April - 31 March 
]& _: NA _; 70 (1994) _< `B modern and fully digitalized `C NA `D country code - 1-664 _= AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) _> 1 (1997) _? .ms _A NA 
]' _B `! 227 km `E NA km `F NA km note: volcanic eruptions beginning in 1995 destroyed most of the road system (2003) _C Plymouth _D 1 (2004 est.) _E `! 1 `T 1 (2004 est.) 
]( _F no regular military forces; Royal Montserrat Police Force (2005) _G defense is the responsibility of the UK 
]) _H none _I transshipment point for South American narcotics destined for the US and Europe 