| Bermuda Islands |
Bermuda (officially, the Bermudas or Somers Islands) is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about 1,030 kilometres (640 miles) to the west-northwest. It is about 1,373 kilometres (853 miles) south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and 1,770 kilometres (1,100 miles) northeast of Miami, Florida. Its capital city is Hamilton though the largest municipality is the town of Saint George's.
Bermuda is the oldest and most populous remaining British overseas territory, settled by England a century before the Acts of Union created the united Kingdom of Great Britain. Bermuda's first capital, St George's, was settled in 1612 and is the oldest continuously inhabited English town in the Americas.
Bermuda has an affluent economy, with finance as its largest sector followed by tourism, giving it the world's highest GDP per capita in 2005. It has a subtropical climate. |
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| Flag description |
Red, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Bermudan coat of arms. The Coat of Arms of Bermuda show a red lion holding a shield that has a depiction of a sinking ship upon it.
The red lion is a symbol for the United Kingdom and alludes to Bermuda's relationship with that nation.
The sinking ship is a depiction of the sinking of the Sea Venture off the coast of Bermuda in 1609. That ship was the first British ship to visit Bermuda.
Foreign civilian ships visiting any British Overseas Territory should fly, as a courtesy flag, the Territory's own Ensign.
The undefaced British Red Ensign is always an acceptable alternative. If the ship is a Foreign government vessel it should fly the Territory's Blue Ensign. Foreign warships should fly a British White Ensign.
The Union Flag (Union Jack), should not be used by either British or foriegn vessels. |
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| Geography |
| The Bermudas consists of approximately 138 islands, with a total area of 71.7 km² (27.7 sq. miles). Compiling a list of these islands is often complicated, as many have more than one name (as does the entire archipelago, which, in addition to its two official names, has historically been known as "La Garza", "Virgineola", and the "Isle of Devils"). Despite the limited land mass, there has also been a tendency for place names to be repeated; there are, for instance, two islands named "Long Island", three bays known as "Long Bay" and the town of St. George is located within the parish of St. George on the island of St. George (each known as St. George's), whereas Bermuda's capital, the City of Hamilton, lies in Pembroke Parish, not Hamilton Parish, on the largest island, "Main Island", which itself is sometimes called "Bermuda" (or "Great Bermuda"). |
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| Climate |
Warmed by the Gulf Stream, Bermuda enjoys a sub-tropical climate. The average annual high temperature is a respectable 24.6°C (76°F), whilst the average annual low is 20.0°C (68°F).
May to October are the warmest months with an average high of 27.7°C (82 F) and an average low of 23.3°C (74°F).
The coldest part of the year runs from January to March; seeing average highs and lows of 20.5°C (69°F) and 15.5°C (60°F) respectively.
Although fine for golf and other land-based activities, swimmers may find Bermuda’s waters a little cool at this time.
Humidity is high all year round leading to mildew problems on clothing for residents (short-term visitors are unlikely to be affected). Rainfall is distributed fairly evenly throughout the year with no distinct rainy season.
It tends to rain in short heavy downpours rather than continual English-type drizzle, meaning that it’s extremely unlikely that your entire holiday or even a whole day is spoilt by rain.
Indeed, it’s a frequent phenomenon to find one part of Bermuda drenched in rain while other areas bask in the sun. The official hurricane season lasts from June to November.
Although not as prevalent as in the Caribbean, severe storms occasionally hit Bermuda. In September 2003 Hurricane Fabian lashed the island with 201 km (125 mph) winds. Fortunately Bermuda only experiences major storms like this every 7 years or so. |
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| Politics |
Executive authority in Bermuda is vested in the monarch and is exercised on her behalf by the Governor. The governor is appointed by the Queen on the advice of the British Government. The current governor is Sir Richard Hugh Turton Gozney KCMG; he was sworn in on 12 December 2007.
There is also a Deputy Governor. Defence and foreign affairs remain the responsibility of the United Kingdom, which also retains responsibility to ensure good government. It must approve any changes to the Constitution of Bermuda. Bermuda now exists as an overseas territory of Britain, but it is the oldest British colony. In 1620, a Royal Assent granted Bermuda limited self-governance, thus making the Parliament of Bermuda the fifth oldest in the world, behind only the Parliament of the United Kingdom, the Tynwald of the Isle of Man, the Althing of Iceland and Sejm of the Republic of Poland. Of these, it is the only one to have met continuously as a legislature since its inception through to today.
The Constitution of Bermuda came into force on 1 June 1967 and was amended in 1989 and 2003. The head of government is the premier. A cabinet is nominated by the premier and appointed officially by the governor.
The legislative branch consists of a bicameral parliament modelled on the Westminster system. The Senate is the upper house consisting of eleven members appointed by the governor on the advice of the premier and the leader of the opposition.
The House of Assembly, or lower house, has thirty-six members elected by the eligible voting populace in secret ballot to represent geographically defined constituencies. |
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Bermuda Islands - Click to enlarge |
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| Elections must be called at no more than five-year intervals. The Progressive Labour Party won the most recent general election held on 18 December 2007, winning 22 of 36 seats in the House of Assembly. |
| Following his victory over former Premier Alex Scott at the Progressive Labour Party delegates' conference in October 2006, the current premier is Ewart Brown. The United Bermuda Party serves in opposition. The Progressive Labour Party leadership favours independence from the United Kingdom, although polls have indicated that this is not supported by the population. While a referendum in 1995 on independence was defeated by a substantial margin, the Bermuda Industrial Union and the Progressive Labour Party (then in the Opposition) had called for a boycott of the referendum, having an unquantified impact on the result. |
| There are few accredited diplomats in Bermuda. The United States maintains the largest diplomatic mission in Bermuda, comprising both the United States Consulate and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Services at the Bermuda International Airport. Given that the United States is by far Bermuda's largest trading partner (providing over 71% of total imports, 85% of tourist visitors, and an estimated $163 billion of U.S. capital in the Bermuda insurance/re-insurance industry alone, and the fact that an estimated 5% of Bermuda residents are U.S. citizens, which represents 14% of all foreign-born persons), American diplomatic presence is seen as an important element in the Bermuda political landscape. |
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| Caribbean Community |
Despite geographical placement, in 2003 Bermuda became an associate member of the bloc known as the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).
This socio-economic bloc contains nations in the main Caribbean area, but others outside too such as: both the Co-operative Republic of Guyana and the Republic of Suriname found in South America, along with Belize in Central America as full members. Bermuda and the Turks and Caicos Islands which are found in the Atlantic Ocean as Associate members of CARICOM, and the same goes for the Commonwealth of The Bahamas which is a full member of the Caribbean Community and also in the Atlantic. |
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| Economy of Bermuda |
Since switching from the Bermudian pound in 1970, Bermuda's currency has been the Bermudian dollar, which is pegged to the US$. US notes and coins are used interchangeably with Bermudian notes and coins within the islands for most practical purposes; however, banks levy a small exchange rate for the purchase of US dollars with Bermudian dollars. Bermudian notes carry the image of HM Queen Elizabeth II.
The Bermuda Monetary Authority is the issuing authority for all banknotes and coins, as well as being responsible for the regulation of financial institutions. There is a permanent exhibition of Bermuda notes and coins at the Royal Naval Dockyard Museum.
Bermuda's per capita income is approximately 50% higher than that of the United States; according to the Bermuda Government's Economic Statistics Division, Bermuda's GDP was $5.85 billion in 2007, or $91,477 per-capita, giving Bermuda the highest GDP per capita in the world.
The affordability of housing has become a prominent issue over the past few years.
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The CIA World Factbook lists the average cost of a house in June 2003 as $976,000, while real estate agencies have claimed that this figure had risen to $1.6 million by 2006, and to $1.845 million by early 2007, though such high figures have been disputed.
Bermuda is an offshore financial centre, which results from its low direct taxation on personal or corporate income. The local tax system is based upon import duties, payroll taxes and consumption taxes. The legal system is derived from that of the United Kingdom, with recourse to English courts of final appeal. |
| As the offshore domicile of many foreign companies, Bermuda has a highly developed international business economy; it is a financial exporter of financial services, primarily insurance, reinsurance, investment funds and special purpose vehicles (SPV). Finance and international business now constitute the largest sector of Bermuda's economy. However in September 2009, it was reported that a growing number of companies were moving from Bermuda to Ireland as part of a search for "a more stable environment". |
| Large numbers of leading international insurance companies are based in Bermuda making the territory one of the world's largest reinsurance centres. Those internationally owned and operated businesses that are physically based in Bermuda—of which there are around four hundred—are represented by the Association of Bermuda International Companies (ABIC). In total, over 1,500 exempted or international companies are currently registered with the Registrar of Companies in Bermuda. |
| Thanks to its favourable tax regime and a highly reactive regulatory framework Bermuda is the domicile of choice for the implementation of insurance-related innovative solutions also known as Alternative Risk Transfer (ART). ART includes captive insurances, Finite Risk insurance and insurance securitisation such as Cat bonds. |
| The Bermuda Stock Exchange (BSX), established in 1971, is now the world's largest fully electronic offshore securities market, with a current market capitalisation (excluding mutual funds) in excess of US$330 billion. There are four hundred securities listed on the stock exchange, of which almost three hundred are offshore funds and alternative investment structures attracted by Bermuda's regulatory environment. The Exchange specialises in listing and trading of capital market instruments such as equities, debt issues, funds (including hedge fund structures) and depository receipt programmes. |
| The BSX is a full member of the World Federation of Exchanges and is located in an OECD member nation. It also has Approved Stock Exchange status under Australia's Foreign Investment Fund (FIF) taxation rules and Designated Investment Exchange status by the UK's Financial Services Authority. |
| Tourism is Bermuda's second largest industry, with the island attracting over one-half million visitors annually, of whom more than 80% are from the United States. Other significant sources of visitors are from Canada and the United Kingdom. Tourists arrive either by cruise ship or by air at Bermuda International Airport, the only airport on the island. |
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| Education |
| The Bermuda Education Act 1996 requires that only three categories of schools can operate in the Bermuda Education system: |
Aided school, has all or a part of its property vested in a body of trustees or board of governors and is partially maintained by public funding or, since 1965 and the desegregation of schools, has received a grant-in-aid out of public funds.
maintained school, has the whole of its property belonging to the Government and is fully maintained by public funds. |
Private school, not maintained by public funds and has not, since 1965 and the desegregation of schools, received any capital grant-in-aid out of public funds. The private school sector consists of 6 traditional private schools, two of which are religious schools, and the remaining four are secular with one of these being a single gender school and another a Montessori school. Also, within the private sector there are a number of home schools which must be registered with the government and receive minimal government regulation. The only boys’ school opened its doors to girls in the 1990s and in 1996, one of the maintained public schools became a private school.
Prior to 1965, the Bermuda school system was racially segregated and when the desegregation of schools was enacted in 1965, two of the formally maintained "white" schools and both single gender schools opted to become private schools. The rest became part of the public school system and were either aided or maintained.
At present there are 26 schools in the Bermuda Public School System, eighteen of which are primary schools, five are middle schools, two senior schools and one special school.
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| There is also an Alternative Programme provided for students with behavioural challenges who cannot function in the public mainstream. There are two aided primary schools, two aided middle schools and one aided senior school. |
| For higher education, the Bermuda College offers various associate degrees and other certificate programmes. Bermuda does not have any four-year colleges or universities. |
| In May 2009, Bermudian Government's application was approved to become a contributory member of the University of the West Indies (UWI). Bermuda's membership is slated to allow Bermudian students to enter the University at an agreed upon subsidised rate possibly as early as the 2009/2010 school year. UWI also agrees that their Open Campus (online degree courses) would become open to Bermudian students in future with Bermuda becoming the 13th country to have access to the Open Campus. |
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| Demographics |
| A July 2005 estimate put Bermuda's population at 65,365. The ethnic makeup of Bermuda is 54.8% African-Caribbean, 34.1% European, and 6.4% multiracial. The islands have a small but growing Asian community. A significant segment of the population is also of Portuguese ancestry (10%), the result of immigration from Portuguese-held islands (especially the Azores) during the past 160 years. |
| Some islanders, especially in St David's, trace their ancestry to Native Americans. Hundreds were shipped to Bermuda, possibly from as far as Mexico. The best known examples were the Algonquian peoples who were exiled from the New England colonies and sold into slavery in the 17th century, notably in the aftermaths of the Pequot War, and King Philip's War. |
| Several thousand expatriate workers, principally from the UK, Canada, the West Indies, South Africa and the U.S., also reside in Bermuda, primarily engaged in specialised professions such as accounting, finance, and insurance. Others are employed in various trades, such as hotels, restaurants, construction, and landscaping services. Of the total workforce of 38,947 persons in 2005, government employment figures state that 11,223 (29 percent) are non-Bermudians. |
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| Media |
| Bermuda Radio |
| Bermuda Radio is a service provided by the Government of Bermuda to assist mariners in and around Bermuda with weather information, government immigration and customs formalities, and practical advice, including search and rescue capabilities. This national service covers a vast area of the western Atlantic ocean in conjunction with the merchant marine vessels of the world and the governments of Canadian, European and Caribbean nations. |
| Bermuda Broadcasting |
| The Bermuda Broadcasting Company is the largest broadcasting company in Bermuda. Sometimes abbreviated locally as "BBC", it is not related to the BBC in the United Kingdom. A commercial, for-profit broadcasting company since its beginning in the 1950s. |
| The Bermuda Broadcasting Company owns radio stations and TV stations using the call letters "ZFB" and "ZBM". The ZBM callsign in particular is one of the oldest in Bermuda - this callsign has been used since 1953 for an AM radio station, since 1962 for an FM radio station, and was also used, beginning in 1958, for the first Bermudian television station, which gave Bermudians their own TV station after years of watching a TV channel intended for American servicemen stationed at Kindley Field. ZFB was originally the callsign for the radio and TV stations of the Capital Broadcasting Company from 1965 to 1984. |
| Radio |
| Bermuda Spirit, on 1230 kHz (transmitter power: 1 kW), local, religious, adult contemporary mix. |
| ZFB-FM (as "Power95 Stereo FM") on 94.9 MHz (ERP: 1 kW) adult contemporary format. |
| ZBM-AM on 1340 kHz (transmitter power: 1 kW), mostly news/talk format, with some music programming. |
| ZBM-FM (as "FM89") on 89.1 MHz (ERP: 15 kW), predominantly adult contemporary format. |
| Television |
| ZFB-TV, VHF ch. 7, is the affiliate station for ABC. Carried on Bermuda cable television. |
| ZBM-TV VHF ch 9, is the affiliate station for CBS. Carried on Bermuda cable television. |
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| Newspapers |
| The Bermuda Sun |
The Bermuda Sun newspaper publishes on Wednesdays and Fridays in Bermuda. The Sun covers a wide range of topics including: news, sports, business, lifestyle. It also publishes the Government of Bermuda's legal notices.
The newspaper began in 1964, edited by Martin Dier. It is now published by Island Press Limited, whose parent company, MediaHouse Limited, reported a $2.9 million profit for the first half of 2007. As of 2010, Randy French is publisher, Tony McWilliam is editor in chief, and Lisa Beauchamp is general manager. |
| Website: www.bermudasun.bm |
| The Royal Gazette |
The Royal Gazette, founded in 1828, is the only daily newspaper in the island nation of Bermuda. It is published Mondays through Saturdays; there is no Sunday edition.
With an average daily circulation 14,578 copies (last audited November 2007), the paper says it reaches around 90% of the adult population. The Royal Gazette is owned by The Bermuda Press (Holdings) Ltd. Bill Zuill is currently Editor-in-Chief and Jeremy Deacon is Assistant Editor.
The Sports section devotes extensive coverage to Bermuda's cricket and football teams, along with reports of English football and occasional wire stories on American football and baseball. The weekly Shipping section provides news about port issues and details of cargo and cruise ship arrivals, which are of interest to the remote island's readers. The Saturday Religion section has a large number of church ads, along with news accounts of church programmes and issues. |
| Website: www.royalgazette.com |
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