Location: Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, east of Puerto Rico

Language: English (official)

Currency: 1 East Caribbean dollar (EC$) = 100 cents

Population: 11,510

Natural Hazards: frequent hurricanes and other tropical storms (July to October)

Import: NA

Export: lobster, fish, livestock, salt

Industries: tourism, boat building, offshore financial services

Transportation:
Railways: 0 km

Highways:
total: 105 km
paved: 65 km
unpaved: 40 km (1992 est.)

Ports & Harbors: Blowing Point, Road Bay

Location: Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean,
east-southeast of Puerto Rico

Language: English (official), local dialects

Currency: 1 East Caribbean dollar (EC$) = 100 cents

Population: 64,246

Natural Hazards: hurricanes and tropical storms (July to October); periodic droughts

Import: food and live animals, machinery and transport equipment,
manufactures, chemicals, oil

Export: petroleum products 48%, manufactures 23%, food and live
animals 4%, machinery and transport equipment 17%

Industries: tourism, construction, light manufacturing (clothing, alcohol, household
appliances)
 

Transportation:
Railways:
total: 77 km
narrow gauge: 64 km 0.760-m gauge; 13 km 0.610-m gauge (used almost exclusively
for handling sugarcane)

Highways:
total: 250 km (1996 est.)
paved: NA km
unpaved: NA km

Ports & Harbors: Saint John's

Location: Caribbean, two island groups in the Caribbean Sea—one includes Curacao and Bonaire north of Venezuela and the other is east of the Virgin Islands

Language: Dutch (official), Papiamento (a Spanish-Portuguese-Dutch-English dialect) predominates, English widely spoken, Spanish

Currency: 1 Netherlands Antillean guilder, gulden, or florin (NAf.) = 100 cents

Population:

Natural Hazards: Curacao and Bonaire are south of Caribbean hurricane belt and are rarely threatened; Sint Maarten, Saba, and Sint Eustatius are subject to
hurricanes from July to October

Import: crude petroleum 64%, food, manufactures

Export: petroleum products 98%

Industries: tourism (Curacao, Sint Maarten, and Bonaire), petroleum refining (Curacao), petroleum transshipment facilities (Curacao and Bonaire), light manufacturing (Curacao)

Transportation:
Railways: 0 km

Highways:
total: 600 km
paved: 300 km
unpaved: 300 km

Ports & Harbors: Kralendijk, Philipsburg, Willemstad

Location: Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, north of Venezuela

Language: Dutch (official), Papiamento (a Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch,English dialect), English (widely spoken), Spanish

Currency: 1 Aruban florin (Af.) = 100 cents

Population: 68,675

Natural Hazards: lies outside the Caribbean hurricane belt

Import: food, consumer goods, manufactures, petroleum
products, crude oil for refining and reexport

Export: mostly refined petroleum products

Industries: tourism, transshipment facilities, oil refining

Transportation:
Railways: 0 km

Highways:
total: 300 km
paved: 130 km
unpaved: 170 km
note: most coastal roads are paved, while unpaved roads serve large tracts of the interior

Ports & Harbors: Barcadera, Oranjestad, Sint Nicolaas

Location: Caribbean, chain of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of Florida

Language: English, Creole (among Haitian immigrants)

Currency: 1 Bahamian dollar (B$) = 100 cents

Population: 283,705

Natural Hazards: hurricanes and other tropical storms that cause extensive flood and wind damage

Import: foodstuffs, manufactured goods, crude oil, vehicles,
electronics

Export: pharmaceuticals, cement, rum, crawfish, refined
petroleum products

Industries: tourism, banking, cement, oil refining and transshipment, salt production, rum, aragonite, pharmaceuticals, spiral-welded steel pipe

Transportation:
Railways: 0 km

Highways:
total: 2,693 km
paved: 1,546 km
unpaved: 1,147 km (1997 est.)

Ports & Harbors: Freeport, Matthew Town, Nassau

Location: Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela

Language: English

Currency: 1 Barbadian dollar (Bds$) = 100 cents

Population: 259,191

Natural Hazards: infrequent hurricanes; periodic landslides

Import: consumer goods, machinery, foodstuffs,
construction materials, chemicals, fuel, electrical components

Export: sugar and molasses, rum, other foods and
beverages, chemicals, electrical components, clothing

Industries: tourism, sugar, light manufacturing, component assembly for export

Transportation:
Railways: 0 km

Highways:
total: 1,650 km
paved: 1,582 km
unpaved: 68 km (1998 est.)

Ports & Harbors: Bridgetown, Speightstown (Port Charles Marina)

Location: Caribbean, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico

Language: English (official)

Currency: 1 United States dollar (US$) = 100 cents

Population: 19,156

Natural Hazards: hurricanes and tropical storms (July to October)

Import: building materials, automobiles, foodstuffs,
machinery

Export: rum, fresh fish, fruits, animals; gravel, sand

Industries: tourism, light industry, construction, rum, concrete block, offshore financial center

Transportation:
ailways: 0 km

Highways:
total: 113 km (1995 est.)
paved: NA km
unpaved: NA km

Ports & Harbors: Road Town

Location: Caribbean, island group in Caribbean Sea, nearly one-half of the way from Cuba to Honduras

Language: English

Currency: 1 Caymanian dollar (CI$) = 100 cents

Population: 39,335

Natural Hazards: hurricanes (July to November)

Import: foodstuffs, manufactured goods

Export: turtle products, manufactured consumer goods

Industries: tourism, banking, insurance and finance, construction, construction materials, furniture

Transportation:
Railways: 0 km

Highways:
total: 406 km
paved: 304 km
unpaved: 102 km

Ports & Harbors: Cayman Brac, George Town

Location: Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, south of Florida

Language: Spanish

Currency: 1 Cuban peso (Cu$) = 100 centavos

Population: 11,096,395

Natural Hazards: the east coast is subject to hurricanes from August to October (in general, the country averages about one hurricane every other year); droughts are common

Import: petroleum, food, machinery, chemicals

Export: sugar, nickel, tobacco, shellfish, medical products,
citrus, coffee

Industries: sugar, petroleum, food, tobacco, textiles, chemicals, paper and wood products, metals (particularly nickel), cement, fertilizers, consumer goods, agricultural machinery

Transportation:
Railways:
total: 4,807 km
standard gauge: 4,807 km 1.435-m gauge (147 km electrified)
note: a large amount of track is in private use by sugar plantations

Highways:
total: 60,858 km
paved: 29,820 km (including 638 km of expressway)
unpaved: 31,038 km (1997 est.)

Waterways: 240 km

Ports & Harbors: Cienfuegos, Havana, Manzanillo, Mariel, Matanzas, Nuevitas, Santiago de Cuba

Location: Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, about one-half of the way from Puerto Rico to Trinidad and Tobago

Language: English (official), French patois

Currency: 1 East Caribbean dollar (EC$) = 100 cents

Population: 64,881

Natural Hazards: flash floods are a constant threat; destructive hurricanes can be expected during the late summer months

Import: manufactured goods, machinery and equipment, food,
chemicals

Export: bananas 50%, soap, bay oil, vegetables, grapefruit,
oranges

Industries: soap, coconut oil, tourism, copra, furniture, cement blocks, shoes

Transportation:
Railways: 0 km

Highways:
total: 780 km
paved: 393 km
unpaved: 387 km (1996 est.)

Ports & Harbors: Portsmouth, Roseau

Location: Caribbean, eastern two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Haiti

Language: Spanish

Currency: 1 Dominican peso (RD$) = 100 centavos

Population: 8,129,734

Natural Hazards: lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject to severe storms from June to October; occasional flooding; periodic droughts

Import: foodstuffs, petroleum, cotton and fabrics, chemicals
and pharmaceuticals

Export: ferronickel, sugar, gold, coffee, cocoa

Industries: tourism, sugar processing, ferronickel and gold mining, textiles, cement, tobacco

Transportation:
Railways:
total: 757 km
standard gauge: 375 km 1.435-m gauge (Central Romana Railroad)
narrow gauge: 142 km 0.762-m gauge (Dominica Government Railway); 240
km operated by sugar companies in various gauges (0.558-m, 0.762-m, 1.067-m
gauges) (1995)

Highways:
total: 12,600 km
paved: 6,224 km
unpaved: 6,376 km (1996 est.)

Ports & Harbors: Barahona, La Romana, Puerto Plata, San Pedro de Macoris, Santo Domingo

Location: Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago

Language: English (official), French patois

Currency: 1 East Caribbean dollar (EC$) = 100 cents

Population: 97,008

Natural Hazards: lies on edge of hurricane belt; hurricane season lasts from June to November

Import: food 25%, manufactured goods 22%, machinery 20%,
chemicals 10%, fuel 6% (1989)

Export: bananas, cocoa, nutmeg, fruit and vegetables, clothing, mace

Industries: food and beverages, textiles, light assembly operations, tourism, construction

Transportation:
Railways: 0 km

Highways:
total: 1,040 km
paved: 638 km
unpaved: 402 km (1996 est.)

Ports & Harbors: Grenville, Saint George's

Location: Caribbean, islands in the eastern Caribbean Sea, southeast of Puerto Rico

Language: French (official) 99%, Creole patois

Currency: 1 French franc (F) = 100 centimes

Population: 420,943

Natural Hazards: hurricanes (June to October); Soufriere is an active volcano

Import: foodstuffs, fuels, vehicles, clothing and other consumer goods, construction materials

Export: bananas, sugar, rum

Industries: construction, cement, rum, sugar, tourism

Transportation:
Railways:
total: NA km; privately owned, narrow-gauge plantation lines

Highways:
total: 2,082 km
paved: 1,742 km
unpaved: 340 km (1985 est.)
note: in 1996 there were a total of 3,200 km of roads

Ports & Harbors:
Basse-Terre, Gustavia (on Saint Barthelemy), Marigot,
Pointe-a-Pitre

Location: Caribbean, western one-third of the island of Hispaniola, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, west of the Dominican Republic

Language: French (official) 20%, Creole

Currency: 1 gourde (G) = 100 centimes

Population: 6,884,264

Natural Hazards: lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject to severe storms from June to October; occasional flooding and earthquakes; periodic droughts

Import: machines and manufactures 50%, food and beverages 39%, petroleum products 2%, chemicals 5%, fats and oils 4%

Export: light manufactures 80.5%, coffee 7.6%, other agriculture 7.2%

Industries: sugar refining, flour milling, textiles, cement, tourism, light assembly industries based on imported parts

Transportation:
Railways:
total: 40 km (single track; privately owned industrial line)—closed in early 1990s
narrow gauge: 40 km 0.760-m gauge

Highways:
total: 4,160 km
paved: 1,011 km
unpaved: 3,149 km (1996 est.)

Waterways: NEGL; less than 100 km navigable

Ports & Harbors: Cap-Haitien, Gonaives, Jacmel, Jeremie, Les Cayes, Miragoane, Port-au-Prince, Port-de-Paix, Saint-Marc

Location: Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, south of Cuba

Language: English, Creole

Currency: 1 Jamaican dollar (J$) = 100 cents

Population: 2,652,

Natural Hazards: hurricanes (especially July to November)

Import: machinery and transport equipment, construction
materials, fuel, food, chemicals

Export: alumina, bauxite, sugar, bananas, rum

Industries: tourism, bauxite, textiles, food processing, light manufactures

Transportation:
Railways:
total: 370 km
standard gauge: 370 km 1.435-m gauge; note—207 km belong to the Jamaica
Railway Corporation in common carrier service, but are no longer operational; the
remaining track is privately owned and used to transport bauxite

Highways:
total: 18,700 km
paved: 13,100 km
unpaved: 5,600 km (1997 est.)

Ports & Harbors: Alligator Pond, Discovery Bay, Kingston, Montego Bay, Ocho Rios, Port Antonio, Rocky Point, Port Esquivel (Longswharf)

Location: Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, north of Trinidad and Tobago

Language: French, Creole patois

Currency: 1 French franc (F) = 100 centimes

Population: 411,539

Natural Hazards: hurricanes, flooding, and volcanic activity (an average of one major natural disaster every five years)

Import: petroleum products, crude oil, foodstuffs, construction
materials, vehicles, clothing and other consumer goods

Export: refined petroleum products, bananas, rum, pineapples

Industries: construction, rum, cement, oil refining, sugar, tourism

Transportation:
Railways: 0 km

Highways:
total: 2,724 km
paved: NA km
unpaved: NA km (1994)

Ports & Harbors: Fort-de-France, La Trinite

Location: Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, southeast of Puerto Rico

Language: English

Currency: 1 East Caribbean dollar (EC$) = 100 cents

Population: 12,853

Natural Hazards: severe hurricanes (June to November); volcanic eruptions (full-scale eruptions of the Soufriere Hills volcano occurred during 1996-97)

Import: machinery and transportation equipment, foodstuffs,
manufactured goods, fuels, lubricants, and related materials

Export: electronic components, plastic bags, apparel, hot
peppers, live plants, cattle

Industries: tourism, rum, textiles, electronic appliances

Transportation:
Railways: 0 km

Highways:
total: 269 km
paved: 203 km
unpaved: 66 km

Ports & Harbors: Plymouth (abandoned), Little Bay (anchorages and ferry
landing), Carr's Bay

Location: Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of the Dominican Republic

Language: Spanish, English

Currency: 1 US dollar (US$) = 100 cents

Population: 3,887,652

Natural Hazards: periodic droughts; hurricanes

Import: chemicals, machinery and equipment, clothing, food,
fish, petroleum products

Export: pharmaceuticals, electronics, apparel, canned tuna, rum, beverage concentrates, medical equipment

Industries: pharmaceuticals, electronics, apparel, food products; tourism

Transportation:
Railways:
total: 96 km
narrow gauge: 96 km 1.000-m gauge, rural, narrow-gauge system for hauling
sugarcane; no passenger service

Highways:
total: 14,400 km
paved: 14,400 km
unpaved: 0 km

Ports & Harbors: Guanica, Guayanilla, Guayama, Playa de Ponce, San Juan

Location: Caribbean, islands in the Caribbean Sea, about one-third of the way from Puerto Rico to Trinidad and Tobago

Language: English

Currency: 1 East Caribbean dollar (EC$) = 100 cents

Population: 42,838

Natural Hazards: hurricanes (July to October)

Import: machinery, manufactures, food, fuels

Export: machinery, food, electronics, beverages and tobacco

Industries: sugar processing, tourism, cotton, salt, copra, clothing, footwear, beverages

Transportation:
Railways:
total: 58 km
narrow gauge: 58 km 0.762-m gauge on Saint Kitts to serve sugarcane
plantations

Highways:
total: 320 km
paved: 136 km
unpaved: 184 km

Ports & Harbors: Basseterre, Charlestown

Location: Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago

Language: English (official), French patois

Currency: 1 East Caribbean dollar (EC$) = 100 cents

Population: 154,020

Natural Hazards: hurricanes and volcanic activity

Import: food 23%, manufactured goods 21%, machinery and transportation equipment 19%, chemicals, fuels

Export: bananas 41%, clothing, cocoa, vegetables, fruits,
coconut oil

Industries: clothing, assembly of electronic components, beverages, corrugated cardboard boxes, tourism, lime processing, coconut processing

Transportation:
Railways: 0 km

Highways:
total: 1,210 km
paved: 63 km
unpaved: 1,147 km

Ports & Harbors: Castries, Vieux Fort

Location: Caribbean, islands in the Caribbean Sea, north of Trinidad and Tobago

Language: English, French patois

Currency: 1 East Caribbean dollar (EC$) = 100 cents

Population: 120,519

Natural Hazards: hurricanes; Soufriere volcano on the island of Saint Vincent is a constant threat

Import: foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, chemicals and fertilizers, minerals and fuels

Export: bananas 39%, eddoes and dasheen (taro), arrowroot starch, tennis racquets

Industries: food processing, cement, furniture, clothing, starch

Transportation:
Railways: 0 km

Highways:
total: 1,040 km
paved: 320 km
unpaved: 720 km

Ports & Harbors: Kingstown

Location: Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela

Language: English (official), Hindi, French, Spanish

Currency: 1 Trinidad and Tobago dollar (TT$) = 100 cents

Population: 1,102,096

Natural Hazards: outside usual path of hurricanes and other tropical storms

Import: machinery, transportation equipment, manufactured
goods, food, live animals

Export: petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, steel products, fertilizer, sugar, cocoa, coffee, citrus, flowers

Industries: petroleum, chemicals, tourism, food processing, cement, beverage, cotton textiles

Transportation:
Railways: minimal agricultural railroad system near San Fernando; railway service
was discontinued in 1968

Highways:
total: 8,320 km
paved: 4,252 km
unpaved: 4,068 km

Ports & Harbors: Pointe-a-Pierre, Point Fortin, Point Lisas, Port-of-Spain, Scarborough, Tembladora

Location: Caribbean, two island groups in the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of The Bahamas

Language: English (official)

Currency: 1 United States dollar (US$) = 100 cents

Population: 16,863

Natural Hazards: frequent hurricanes

Import: food and beverages, tobacco, clothing, manufactures, construction materials

Export: lobster, dried and fresh conch, conch shells

Industries: tourism, offshore financial services

Transportation:
Railways: 0 km

Highways:
total: 121 km
paved: 24 km
unpaved: 97 km

Ports & Harbors: Grand Turk, Providenciales

Location: Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico

Language: English (official), Spanish, Creole

Currency: 1 United States dollar (US$) = 100 cents

Population: 119,827

Natural Hazards: several hurricanes in recent years; frequent and severe droughts and floods; occasional earthquakes

Import: crude oil, foodstuffs, consumer goods, building materials

Export: refined petroleum products

Industries: tourism, petroleum refining, watch assembly, rum distilling, construction, pharmaceuticals, textiles, electronics

Transportation:
Railways: 0 km

Highways:
total: 856 km
paved: NA km
unpaved: NA km

Ports & Harbors: Charlotte Amalie, Christiansted, Cruz Bay, Port Alucroix