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Bermuda (officially, TheBermuda Islands or The SomersIsles) is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, it is the oldest and most populous remaining British overseas territory, settled by England a centurybefore the Acts of Union created the United Kingdom of Great Britain. 

Although commonly referred to inthe singular, the territory consists of approximately 138 islands, with a totalarea of 53.3 square kilometers (20.6 sq mi). Compiling a list ofthese islands is often complicated, as many have more than one name. Theclimate on the islands is subtropical, mild, humid, and strong winds are commonin winter.  The population of the islands is around 67,000 (July 2008 est.).

Bermuda's currency is the Bermudiandollar, which is pegged to the US dollar. US notes and coins are used interchangeably with Bermudian notes and coins within the islands for mostpractical purposes; however, banks levy a small exchange rate for the purchase of US dollars with Bermudian dollars. The affordability of housing has become a prominent issue over the past few years. The CIA World Factbook lists theaverage cost of a house in June 2003 as $976,000, while real estate agencies have claimed that this figure had risen to $1.6 million by 2006, and to $1.845million by early 2007, though such high figures have been disputed. Bermuda also has a very long and tough legal residency attainment process.

Its economy is primarily based onproviding financial services for international business and luxury facilities for tourists. A number of reinsurance companies relocated to the island following the 11 September 2001 attacks and again after Hurricane Katrina inAugust 2005, contributing to the expansion of an already robust international business sector. Bermuda's tourism industry - which derives over 80% of its visitors from the US - continues to struggle but remains the island's number two industry.

Bermuda is an offshore financial centre, which results from its low direct taxation on personal or corporate income. Large numbers of leading international insurance companies are based in Bermuda making the territory one of the world's largest reinsurance centers. Those internationally owned and operated businesses that are physically basedin Bermuda - of which there are around four hundred - are represented by theAssociation of Bermuda International Companies (ABIC). In total, over 1,500 exempted or international companies are currently registered with the Registrar of Companies in Bermuda.