Montserrat

highest point:

• Soufriere Hills volcano pre-eruption height was 915 m;
• current lava dome is subject to periodic build up and collapse;
• estimated dome height was 1,050 m in 2015

lowest point:

Caribbean Sea 0 m

noun:

Montserratian(s)

adjective:

Montserratian

total:

36.8 years (2024 est.)

male:

35.4 years

female:

37.8 years

at birth:

1.03 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.06 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

0.98 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

1 male(s)/female

total population:

1 male(s)/female (2024 est.)

total:

9.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.)

male:

8 deaths/1,000 live births

female:

11.6 deaths/1,000 live births

total population:

76.1 years (2024 est.)

male:

76.9 years

female:

75.3 years

improved:

urban: NA

rural:

NA

total:

NA

unimproved:

urban: NA

rural:

NA

total:

NA

total population:

NA

male:

NA

female:

NA

urban population:

9.3% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization:

0.94% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

conventional long form:

none

conventional short form:

Montserrat

etymology:

island named by explorer Christopher COLUMBUS in 1493 after the Benedictine abbey Santa Maria de Montserrat, near Barcelona, Spain

name:

• Plymouth;
• note - Plymouth was abandoned in 1997 because of volcanic activity;
• interim government buildings have been built at Brades Estate, the de facto capital, in the Carr's Bay/Little Bay vicinity at the northwest end of Montserrat

geographic coordinates:

16 42 N, 62 13 W

time difference:

UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

etymology:

• now entirely deserted because of volcanic activity, the city was originally named after Plymouth, England;
• de jure , Plymouth remains the capital city of Montserrat;
• it is therefore the only ghost town that serves as the capital of a political entity

history:

previous 1960; latest put into force 20 October 2010 (The Montserrat Constitution Order 2010)

amendments:

amended 2011, 2020

chief of state:

King CHARLES III (since 8 September 2022); represented by Governor Sarah TUCKER (since 6 April 2023)

head of government:

Premier Easton TAYLOR-FARRELL (since 19 November 2019)

cabinet:

Executive Council consists of the governor, the premier, 3 other ministers, the attorney general, and the finance secretary

elections/appointments:

• the monarchy is hereditary;
• governor appointed by the monarch;
• following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party usually becomes premier

note: effective with Constitution Order 2010, October 2010, the office of premier replaced the office of chief minister

description:

unicameral Legislative Assembly (12 seats; 9 members directly elected in a single constituency by absolute majority vote in 2 rounds to serve 5-year terms)

elections:

last held on 18 November 2019 (next to be held in 2024)

election results:

• percent of vote by party - MCAP 42.7%, PDM 29.9%, other 17.1%;
• seats by party - MCAP 5, PDM 3, independent 1;
• composition - men 8, women 4, percentage women 33.3%

note: the Assembly elects the speaker from the outside for a 5-year term; the Assembly includes 2 ex-officio members, the attorney general and the financial secretary

highest court(s):

• the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (ECSC) is the superior court of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States;
• the ECSC - headquartered on St. Lucia - consists of the Court of Appeal - headed by the chief justice and 4 judges - and the High Court with 18 judges;
• the Court of Appeal is itinerant, traveling to member states on a schedule to hear appeals from the High Court and subordinate courts;
• High Court judges reside in the member states, with 1 assigned to Montserrat;
• Montserrat is also a member of the Caribbean Court of Justice

judge selection and term of office:

• chief justice of Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court appointed by the Her Majesty, Queen ELIZABETH II;
• other justices and judges appointed by the Judicial and Legal Services Commission, and independent body of judicial officials;
• Court of Appeal justices appointed for life with mandatory retirement at age 65;
• High Court judges appointed for life with mandatory retirement at age 62

subordinate courts:

magistrate's court

embassy:

• none (overseas territory of the UK);
• alternate contact is the US Embassy in Barbados [1] (246) 227-4000;
• US Embassy Bridgetown, Wildey Business Park, St. Michael BB 14006, Barbados, WI

• blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Montserratian coat of arms centered in the outer half of the flag;
• the arms feature a woman in green dress, Erin, the female personification of Ireland, standing beside a yellow harp and embracing a large dark cross with her right arm;
• Erin and the harp are symbols of Ireland reflecting the territory's Irish ancestry;
• blue represents awareness, trustworthiness, determination, and righteousness

• formerly high-income economy;
• volcanic activity destroyed much of original infrastructure and economy;
• new capital and port is being developed;
• key geothermal and solar power generation;
• key music recording operations

general assessment:

• telecom market one of growth in Caribbean and fully digitalized;
• high dependency on tourism and offshore financial services;
• operators expand FttP (Fiber to Home) services;
• LTE launches and operators invest in mobile networks;
• effective competition in all sectors (2020)

domestic:

fixed-line is 67 per 100 and mobile-cellular teledensity is 110 per 100 persons (2020)

international:

country code - 1-664; landing point for the ECFS optic submarine cable with links to 14 other islands in the eastern Caribbean extending from the British Virgin Islands to Trinidad (2019)

• Radio Montserrat, a public radio broadcaster, transmits on 1 station and has a repeater transmission to a second station;
• repeater transmissions from the GEM Radio Network of Trinidad and Tobago provide another 2 radio stations;
• cable and satellite TV available (2007)