The area consists of 13 island countries, from the Bahamas in the north to Trinidad and Tobago in the south; Belize, which is geographically situated in Central America; and the 2 nations of Guyana and Suriname, located on the north main coast of South America. Numerous countries in the region share a typical African ethnic and British colonial heritage, while Cuba and the Dominican Republic were Spanish colonies, Haiti was French, and Suriname was Dutch. The dates of self-reliance of these nations range from Haiti in 1804 to St. Kitts and Nevis in 1983. The biggest nations in terms of acreage are Guyana and Suriname, while those with the biggest populations are Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Haiti.
Politically, all Caribbean nations, with the exception of communist Cuba, have elected democratic federal governments. Most of the previous British colonies have parliamentary kinds of federal government, with the exception of Guyana, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Suriname, which are republics headed by presidents. In regards to regional integration, 14 of the area's independent nations come from the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), with the exception of the Dominican Republic (which has observer status) and Cuba. CARICOM was formed in 1973 to spur regional economic integration. Some critics argue that it has been sluggish to promote integration, compared to other regional economic groupings, however development has actually been made in approaching a single financial market and in developing a Caribbean Court of Justice.
The six OECS nations also share a typical currency, the Eastern Caribbean dollar, with financial policy handled by the Eastern Caribbean Reserve Bank. The Caribbean Advancement Bank (CDB), headquartered in Barbados, promotes economic development and local integration. With the exception of Cuba and Haiti, routine elections have actually been the standard, and for the most part have actually been complimentary and fair. In 2005, Dominica and Suriname held elections in May, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines held elections in wesley timeshare exit reviews December. Haiti was anticipated to hold elections in 2005, however substantial problems and political instability led to those elections being delayed several times, up until they were ultimately held on February 7, 2006.
Successful elections eventually were hung on August 28, 2006, without the political violence that some observers had actually anticipated. Looking ahead, parliamentary elections are due in St. Lucia by December 2006, while elections in the Bahamas, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago are due in 2007. (See for a listing of leaders and elections for head of federal government.) Although numerous Caribbean nations have maintained long democratic customs, they are not immune from terrorist and other risks to their political stability. In 1993, stability on St. Kitts was threatened following violent demonstrations after challenged elections; order was restored with the help of security forces from surrounding states.
Previously in the 1980s, the federal government of Eugenia Charles in Dominica was threatened by a strange coup plot involving foreign mercenaries. And naturally, Grenada, under the socialist-oriented federal government of Maurice Bishop, experienced a break from the democratic standard after it presumed power in an almost bloodless coup in 1979 and installed an individuals's revolutionary government. After the violent topple and murder of Bishop in 1983, the United States stepped in to bring back order and end the Cuban presence on the island. Many Caribbean countries experienced a financial depression in 2001-2002 due to recessions in the tourism and farming sectors, although many Caribbean economies have actually rebounded given that 2003.
financial recession and sluggish healing. The banana and sugar sectors in the Eastern Caribbean were harmed by a tropical storm in 2002 and a dry spell in 2003. Both sectors deal with unpredictable futures because of the European Union's strategy to phase out preferred market access from former Caribbean nests for bananas by 2006 and for sugar by 2009. The Haitian economy experienced decline start in 2001, with political instability intensifying currently difficult financial conditions in the hemisphere's poorest country. The strongest carrying out economies in the last few years have been those of the Dominican Republic, fueled by the garments sector, and Trinidad and Tobago, with substantial energy resources.
In 2004 and 2005, the area's greatest financial performers balancing growth rates over 5% for those 2 years, were Antigua and Barbuda, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago. Those nations not faring well in 2004 since of devastating typhoons and tropical storms included Haiti, with a 3. 5%% decrease in gdp (GDP), and Grenada, with a GDP decrease of 3%. For 2005, nevertheless, Grenada's economy rebounded with development over 5%, while Haiti's development was 1. 8%. In Guyana, economic development has been stagnant or very little over the past a number of years. In 2005, the economy decreased 3% because of high oil costs and floods, which early in the year seriously affected farming and mining activities.
The Single Strategy To Use For How To Find Number Of Shares Outstanding On Yahoo Finance
However, some observers have also been concerned about the region's high level of public financial obligation, with numerous Caribbean nations having debt levels that go beyond 100% of their GDP. U.S. interests in the Caribbean are diverse, and consist of economic, political, and security concerns. During the Cold War, security concerns tended to eclipse other policy interests. In the aftermath of the Cold War, other U.S. policy interests emerged from the shadow of the East-West conflict in the Caribbean that concentrated on concerns about the Soviet and Cuban hazard. U.S. policy concerns shifted from one stressing security concerns to a brand-new focus on strengthened financial relations through trade and investment.
interest in the Caribbean. The Administration describes the Caribbean as America's "third border," with occasions in the region having a direct impact on the homeland security of the United States. It describes Caribbean countries as "important partners on security, trade, health, the environment, education, local democracy, and other hemispheric issues." The United States has close relations with the majority of Caribbean nations, with the exception of Cuba under Fidel Castro. The U.S.-Caribbean relationship is defined by substantial financial linkages, cooperation on counter-narcotics efforts and security, and a large U.S. foreign assistance program supporting a variety of jobs to enhance democracy, promote economic growth and development, relieve hardship, and fight the AIDS epidemic in the region. Customs and Border Defense of the Department of Homeland Security. The CSI program helps guarantee that high-risk containers are determined and inspected at foreign ports before they are put on vessels for shipment to the United States. In September 2006, three Caribbean ports ended up being functional CSI ports: Caucedo, Dominican Republic; Kingston, Jamaica; and Freeport, timeshare floating week Bahamas. Other Latin American ports in the CSI program are the Central American port of Puerto Cortes, Honduras, and the South American ports of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Santos, Brazil. In the 108th Congress, a legal initiative required extra foreign help in order to enhance foreign port security worldwide, but no final action was finished prior to completion of the session.
2279 (Hollings), in September 2004, which would have offered the Administrator of the Maritime Administration, in coordination with the Secretary of State, to determine foreign assistance programs that might facilitate implementation of port security antiterrorism measures in foreign countries. The act likewise would have called for a report on the security of ports in the Caribbean Basin, consisting of an evaluation of the effectiveness of the procedures employed to better security at such ports and an assessment of the resources and program changes needed to take full advantage of security at Caribbean Basin ports. In the 109th Congress, 2 bills would attend to foreign support programs for Caribbean Basin ports.
744 (Nelson, Bill), presented April 11, 2005, would develop a Caribbean Basin Port Support Program. Under the legislative initiative, the Administrator of MARAD in the Department of Transport, in coordination with the Secretary of State, would determine foreign assistance programs that might assist in implementation of port security antiterrorism procedures at Caribbean Basin ports. The Administrator and the Secretary would establish a program for such help in assessment with the Organization of American States. In addition, the Secretary of Homeland Security would be needed to submit a report to Congress on status of port security in Caribbean Basin nations. S. 1052 (Stevens), the Transport Security Enhancement wesley timeshare exit Act of 2005, consists of an arrangement (Area 504) that would develop a program to help with application of port security antiterrorism steps in foreign nations, with particular emphasis on ports in the Caribbean Basin; this bill was introduced May 17, 2005, and reported by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transport on February 27, 2006 (S.Rept.
2791 (Stevens), introduced May 11, 2006. Rising criminal activity is a major security obstacle throughout the Caribbean. The murder rate in Jamaica continues to skyrocket, with 1,445 people eliminated in 2004 and more than 1,600 people in 2005. With rate of 60 murders per 100,000 inhabitants in 2005, Jamaica had the greatest murder rate on the planet. In late February 2006, Jamaicans were surprised over the brutal killings of 6 household members, consisting of four kids in the western part of the country. High levels of violent criminal activity, consisting of murder and kidnaping, likewise have plagued Trinidad and Tobago and Haiti. Even smaller sized Caribbean countries like St.
On April 22, 2006, Guyana's Agriculture minister, in addition to his 2 brother or sisters and a security personnel, were shot and eliminated in an apparent robbery. Gangs included in drug trafficking, extortion, and violence are accountable for much of the criminal activity. Some observers believe that wrongdoers deported from the United States have actually contributed to the area's surge in violent criminal offense in current years, although some maintain that there is no established link. Jamaica has advocated the development of a worldwide procedure relating to the deportation of wrongdoers. A significant concern for Caribbean nationsthe majority of which are net energy importershas been the rising price of oil and the possible result of such rising costs on financial growth and social stability.
Of these, only Trinidad and Tobago is a significant oil and gas producer, representing 60% of tested oil reserves and 91% of gas reserves in the region. The nation is also the biggest supplier of liquified gas (LNG) to the United States, representing 75% of all U.S. LNG imports. Apart from Trinidad and Tobago, Cuba likewise produces oil, however still imports a bulk of its usage needs. Barbados also produces a little amount of oil, which is fine-tuned in Trinidad and Tobago, but it imports 90% of its oil intake requirements. Venezuela is now offering oil to Caribbean countries on preferential terms in a new program known as Petro, Caribe, and there has been some U.S.
Some Known Questions About Which Results Are More Likely For Someone Without Personal Finance Skills? Check All That Apply..
Since 1980, Caribbean nations have actually gained from preferential oil imports from Venezuela (and Mexico) under the San Jose Pact, and because 2001, Venezuela has offered extra assistance for Caribbean oil imports under the Caracas Energy Accord. Petro, Caribe, nevertheless, would go further with the objective of putting in location a local supply, refining, and transportation and storage network, and developing an advancement fund for those countries getting involved in the program. What is a future in finance. Under the program, Venezuela revealed that it would provide 190,000 barrels per day of oil to the area, with nations paying market value for 50% of the oil within 90 days, and the balance paid over 25 years at an annual rate of 2%.
To date, 14 Caribbean nations are signatories of Petro, Caribe. Barbados, which already receives affordable petroleum rates from Trinidad, has declined to sign the arrangement, and Trinidad, which has its own significant energy resources, has decreased to sign. (For extra information, see CRS Report RL33693, Latin America: Energy Supply, Political Developments, and U.S. Policy Approaches, by [author name scrubbed], [author name scrubbed], and [author name scrubbed]) The AIDS epidemic in the Caribbean, where infection rates are amongst the greatest beyond sub-Saharan Africa, has already begun to have unfavorable repercussions for financial and social development in the area. In 2005, an estimated 300,000 grownups and kids in the Caribbean were reported to be living with HIV, with the epidemic declaring 24,000 lives throughout the year, making it the leading cause of death amongst adults aged 15-44 years.