Montserrat

Montserrat
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: "A people of excellence, moulded by nature, nurtured by God"
Anthem:  "God Save the Queen" National song: "Motherland"
Location of  Montserrat  (circled in red) in the Caribbean  (light yellow)
Topographic map of Montserrat showing the "exclusion zone" due to volcanic activity, and the new airport in the north. The roads and settlements in the exclusion zone have mostly been destroyed.
Status	British Overseas Territory
Capital	Plymouth (de jure)a Brades (de facto) Little Bay (under construction)
Largest city	Brades
Official languages	English
Ethnic groups	West Africans Irish Creoles Mulatto
Demonym	Montserratian
Government	Parliamentary dependency under constitutional monarchy
• Monarch	Elizabeth II
• Governor	Elizabeth Carriere
• Premier	Donaldson Romeo
• Responsible Ministerb (UK)	Baroness Anelay of St Johns
Legislature	Legislative Assembly
Establishment
• English control established	1632
Area
• Total	102 km2 (39 sq mi) (219th)
• Water (%)	negligible
Population
• 2012 estimate	4,900 (233rd)
• Density	44/km2 (114.0/sq mi) (153rd)
GDP (PPP)	2014 estimate
• Total	US$63 million (not ranked)
• Per capita	US$12,384 (not ranked)
Currency	East Caribbean dollar (XCD)
Time zone	(UTC−4)
Drives on the	left
Calling code	+1 664
ISO 3166 code	MS
Internet TLD	.ms
Abandoned in 1997, following a volcanic eruption. Government buildings are in Brades, making it the de facto capital. For the Overseas Territories.

in the Caribbean  (light yellow)

Montserrat (/mɒntsəˈræt/) is a Caribbean island—specifically in the Leeward Islands, which is part of the chain known as the Lesser Antilles, in the British West Indies. It is a British Overseas Territory (BOT). Montserrat measures approximately 16 km (10 mi) long and 11 km (7 mi) wide, with approximately 40 km (25 mi) of coastline. Montserrat is nicknamed The Emerald Isle of the Caribbean both for its resemblance to coastal Ireland and for the Irish ancestry of many of its inhabitants.

On 18 July 1995, the previously dormant Soufrière Hills volcano, in the southern part of the island, became active. Eruptions destroyed Montserrat's Georgian era capital city of Plymouth. Between 1995 and 2000, two-thirds of the island's population was forced to flee, primarily to the United Kingdom, leaving fewer than 1,200 people on the island as of 1997 (rising to nearly 5,000 by 2016). The volcanic activity continues, mostly affecting the vicinity of Plymouth, including its docking facilities, and the eastern side of the island around the former W. H. Bramble Airport, the remnants of which were buried by flows from volcanic activity on 11 February 2010.