Bermuda

(Please note that I have been trying to profile one country per day in an effort to better educate myself about the world we live in. I am sharing the facts I find most interesting because like all bloggers I just assume that what interests me also interests you.)



- From the CIA World Factbook: "Bermuda was first settled in 1609 by shipwrecked English colonists headed for Virginia. Tourism to the island to escape North American winters first developed in Victorian times. Tourism continues to be important to the island's economy, although international business has overtaken it in recent years. Bermuda has developed into a highly successful offshore financial center. A referendum on independence was soundly defeated in 1995."

- Bermuda is only about 53 sq km in area (about one-third the size of Washington DC). The population of the island is about 64,482 (Washington's population is about 572,000). Bermuda helps keep its population down by restricting who can buy property. You just can't decide to live on Bermuda. They want you to visit but they don't want you necessarily to stay.

- Population wise - Bermuda is one of the smallest countries in the world but interestingly enough - Bermuda has a larger population than Greenland which is about 40 thousand times as big as Bermuda.

- You can't rent a car on Bermuda but you can rent mopeds. Many people on Bermuda supplement their income by using their cars as taxi's in their spare time.

- Bermuda is technically a self-governing overseas territory of the United Kingdom and the Queen of England is the head of state. The government is bicameral with a Senate (11 appointed members) and a House of Assembly (with 36 directly elected members).

- The per capita GDP is $35,200 but also keep in mind that almost everything has to be brought onto the island. (They export $51 million worth of stuff but import $719 million worth of stuff.)

- The climate in Bermuda is roughly equal to the climate on the coast of South Carolina.

- You may have heard of the Bermuda Triangle - an triangle of area over the Atlantic with end points in Florida, Bermuda and Puerto Rico. I always wondered why Bermuda was the one to get singled out. I mean "the Puerto Rican Triangle" would be equally correct. The term Bermuda Triangle was first used in 1964 but the idea has since been completely debunked. By the time the show In Search of... came out the idea of a Bermuda Triangle was pretty much out of fashion (although I doubt if that stopped Leonard Nimoy from doing a show on it).

- My brother-in law lives on Bermuda. Hi Kevin! Hi Karen!