Economy of Montserrat

Prior to this date, the small island country of 12,000 had an export economy based on agriculture, clothing, electronic parts and plants, with a per capita gross national product of US$3,000 to 8,000.

Destroyed by Hurricane Hugo in 1989, the studio was never reestablished; however, Martin subsequently helped found the Montserrat Cultural Centre, which was opened in 2007.

A catastrophic eruption of Soufrière Hills in June 1997 closed the W. H. Bramble Airport and seaport at Plymouth, causing further economic and social dislocation.

[3] Today, Montserrat's main economic activity is in construction and government services which together accounted for about 50 percent of GDP in 2000 when it was EC$76 million.

The decline in economic activity reflected in large part the completion of major projects in both the private and public sectors.