|RConstitution:|N Independent commonwealth within the Commonwealth of Nations.
|RNational holiday:|N Independence Day, July 10.
|RNature and climate:|N Nearly 700 low coral islands, of which 30 are inhabited, and over 2000 islets.
To a great extend forested.
Here lives bats, agouti and racoons. Great colonies of flamingoes, lizards, snakes and frogs.
Comfortable climate with an average temperature of 20°C in January and 28°C in July.
Percipitation 1000 mm.
|RPeople:|N 85% are negroes or mulattoes.
|REconomy:|N Tourism most important industry, 50% of GNP. 3 million tourists visited the islands in 1986.
Fruits, beans, potatoes and peanuts most important crops. Good fishing, especially crabs and lobsters for export.
Extensive forestry and export of paper pulp.
Thriving manufacturing. Biggest are rum distilleries, pharmaceuticals, banking, argonite-extraction and saltproduction.
Also smaller factories for textiles, ice, furniture, purified water, plastics, perfume and so on.
|RHistory:|N What Christopher Columbus first saw of the New World in 1492 was San Salvador at Watting Island, where he also first landed. Then there lived Arawak Indians.
British settlements in the 17th century, the islands became the home and base for pirates and privateers, the so called buchaneers.
British colony from 1783 until independence in 1973. Selfgovernment on domestic issues since 1964.
