Map of Montserrat | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide1989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 | More stats

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Background: 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. The Soufriere Hills Volcano erupted in 1995, devastating much of the island; two thirds of the population fled abroad. Montserrat has endured volcanic activity since, with the last eruption occurring in 2013.


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Location

Geographic coordinates

Map reference

Area
Total: 102 km²
Land: 102 km²
Water: 0 km²
Comparative: about 0.6 times the size of Washington, D.C.

Land boundaries
Total: 0 km

Coastline: 40 km

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm

Climate: tropical; little daily or seasonal temperature variation

Terrain: volcanic island, mostly mountainous, with small coastal lowland

Elevation
Highest point: Soufriere Hills volcano pre-eruption height was 915 m; current lava dome is subject to periodic build up and collapse; estimated dome height was 1,050 m in 2015
Lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m

Natural resources

Land use
Agricultural land: 30% (2023 est.)
Arable land: 20% (2023 est.)
Permanent crops: 0% (2022 est.)
Permanent pasture: 10% (2023 est.)
Forest: 24.2% (2023 est.)
Other: 45.8% (2023 est.)

Irrigated land: 0 km² (2022)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards: volcanic eruptions; severe hurricanes (June to November)
Volcanism: Soufrière Hills volcano (915 m) has erupted continuously since 1995; a massive eruption in 1997 destroyed most of the capital, Plymouth, and made about half of the island uninhabitable; the island of Montserrat is part of the volcanic island arc of the Lesser Antilles that extends from Saba in the north to Grenada in the south

Geography
Note: the island is entirely volcanic in origin and composed of three major volcanic centers of differing ages


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Population
Total: 5,468 (2024 est.)
Male: 2,728
Female: 2,740
Distribution: only the northern half of the island is populated; the southern portion is uninhabitable due to volcanic activity
Growth rate: 0.59% (2024 est.)

Nationality

Ethnic groups

Languages: English

Religions: Protestant 71.4% (includes Anglican 17.7%, Pentecostal/Full Gospel 16.1%, Seventh Day Adventist 15%, Methodist 13.9%, Church of God 6.7%, other Protestant 2%), Roman Catholic 11.4%, Rastafarian 1.4%, Hindu 1.2%, Jehovah's Witness 1%, Muslim 0.4%, other/not stated 5.1%, none 7.9% (2018 est.)

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 15.8% (male 446/female 420)
15-64 years: 76.1% (male 2,062/female 2,101)
65 years and over: 8% (2024 est.) (male 220/female 219)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 31.3 (2024 est.)
Youth dependency ratio: 20.8 (2024 est.)
Elderly dependency ratio: 10.5 (2024 est.)
Potential support ratio: 9.5 (2024 est.)

Median age
Total: 36.8 years (2024 est.)
Male: 35.4 years
Female: 37.8 years

Population growth rate: 0.59% (2024 est.)

Birth rate: 11.9 births/1,000 population (2024 est.)

Death rate: 6 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.)

Net migration rate

Population distribution: only the northern half of the island is populated; the southern portion is uninhabitable due to volcanic activity

Urbanization
Urban population: 9.3% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization: 0.94% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Major urban areas

Environment

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1 male(s)/female
Total population: 1 male(s)/female (2024 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate
Total: 9.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.)
Male: 8 deaths/1,000 live births
Female: 11.6 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 76.1 years (2024 est.)
Male: 76.9 years
Female: 75.3 years

Total fertility rate: 1.33 children born/woman (2024 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source
Total: 1.9% of population (2022 est.)

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access
Total: 0.4% of population (2022 est.)

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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Country name

Government type

Capital
Name: Plymouth
Geographic coordinates: 16 42 N, 62 13 W
Time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Etymology: now entirely deserted because of volcanic activity, the city was named after Plymouth, England
Note: Plymouth was abandoned in 1997 because of volcanic activity; interim government buildings have been built at Brades Estate, the de facto capital, at the northwest end of Montserrat

Administrative divisions: 3 parishes; Saint Anthony, Saint Georges, Saint Peter

Dependent areas

Independence

National holiday

Constitution

Legal system: English common law

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage

Executive branch
Chief of state: King CHARLES III (since 8 September 2022); represented by Governor Sarah TUCKER (since 6 April 2023)
Head of government: Premier Easton TAYLOR-FARRELL (since 19 November 2019)
Cabinet: Executive Council consists of the governor, the premier, 3 other ministers, the attorney general, and the finance secretary
Election/appointment process: the monarchy is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party usually becomes premier

Legislative branch
Legislature name: Legislative Assembly
Legislative structure: unicameral
Number of seats: 12 (directly elected)
Electoral system: plurality/majority
Scope of elections: full renewal
Term in office: 5 years
Most recent election date: 11/18/2019
Parties elected and seats per party: MCAP (5); PDM (3); independent (1)
Percentage of women in chamber: 33.3%
Expected date of next election: 2024
Note: the Assembly elects the speaker from the outside for a 5-year term; the Assembly includes 2 ex-officio members, the attorney general and the financial secretary

Judicial branch

Political parties and leaders

International organization participation

Diplomatic representation

Flag description: blue with the UK flag in the upper-left quadrant and the Montserratian coat of arms centered in the right half of the flag; the arms show a woman in a green dress standing beside a yellow harp and embracing a large, dark-brown cross with her right arm

National symbols

National anthem
Title: 'God Save the King'
Lyrics/music: unknown
History: official anthem, as a UK territory

National heritage


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Economy overview

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate

Real gdp per capita

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 90.8% (2017 est.)
Government consumption: 50.4% (2017 est.)
Investment in fixed capital: 17.9% (2017 est.)
Investment in inventories: -0.1% (2017 est.)
Exports of goods and services: 29.5% (2017 est.)
Imports of goods and services: -88.6% (2017 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin

Agriculture products

Industries: tourism, rum, textiles, electronic appliances

Industrial production growth rate

Labor force

Unemployment rate

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: $55.651 million (2014 est.)
Expenditures: $43.652 million (2014 est.)
Note: central government revenues and expenses (excluding grants/extrabudgetary units/social security funds) converted to US dollars at average official exchange rate for year indicated

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt

Revenue

Fiscal year

Inflation rate consumer prices

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance

Exports
Commodities: gravel and crushed stone, sand (2023)
Commodities note: top export commodities based on value in dollars over $500,000

Imports: $15.3 million (2021 est.); $39.44 million (2017 est.); $36.1 million (2016 est.)
Commodities: refined petroleum, electric generating sets, cars, stone processing machines, x-ray equipment (2023)
Commodities note: top five import commodities based on value in dollars

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates


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Electricity
Installed generating capacity: 6,000 kW (2023 est.)
Consumption: 15.968 million kWh (2023 est.)
Transmission/distribution losses: 370,000 kWh (2023 est.)
Access electrification - total population: 100% (2020)
Generation sources fossil fuels: 87.8% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
Generation sources solar: 12.2% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)

Coal

Petroleum
Refined petroleum consumption: 200 bbl/day (2023 est.)

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions: 24,000 metric tonnes of CO&sub2; (2023 est.)
From petroleum and other liquids: 24,000 metric tonnes of CO&sub2; (2023 est.)

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 3,000 (2020 est.)
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 67 (2020 est.)
Mobile cellular total subscriptions: 5,000 (2020 est.)
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 110 (2020 est.)

Telephone system

Broadcast media

Internet
Users percent of population: 54.6% (2011 est.)

Broadband fixed subscriptions
Total: 2,700 (2018 est.)
Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 55 (2018 est.)


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Military expenditures

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 1 (2025)

Heliports

Pipelines

Railways

Roadways

Waterways

Merchant marine

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs