Montserrat is positioned in the Leeward Islands of which is part of the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean Sea. The island itself amounts to being only ten miles long and only seven miles wide. With 25 miles of coastline. The total population of Montserrat stands at 4655 with a population of Zero in the capital of Plymouth in 2007 following the evacuation prior the eruption of Soufriere Hills Volcano situated in the south. Montserrat with such a small population is home to five different ethnicities being British, Mulatto, Creoles, Irish and West African.

From 1979 to 1989 Montserrat was home to a branch of George Martin's AIR Studios which made the island popular with working musicians who often went there to record while taking advantage of the island's climate and beautiful surroundings. The island's operating budget is largely supplied by the British government and administered through the Department for International Development amounting to approximately £25 million per year. Additional amounts are secured through income and property taxes, license and other fees as well as customs duties levied on imported goods. Since the devastations of Hurricane Hugo and the eruption of the Soufriere Hills Volcano, the Montserrat economy has been effectively halted. Export businesses currently based in Montserrat deal primarily in the selling and shipping of aggregate for construction. Imports include virtually everything available for sale on the island.

Montserrat is currently under control of the British Overseas Territories, although they are not part of the United Kingdom. The government has fourteen different territories, of which Montserrat is one of them. The government buildings were once in the capital of Plymouth until the volcano erupted in 1998 and then they moved to Brades to the north. Because of the British Overseas Territory, the residents of Montserrat acquired residency rights to live in the United Kingdom in 1998 and citizenship being granted in 2002.

Population: 4655 an estimated 8,000 refugees left the island mainly to the UK following the volcanic activity in July 1995; few have returned. Pre- eruption population was 13,000 in Age structure: 0–14 years: 23.4% (male 1,062; female 1,041) 15–64 years: 65.3% (male 2,805; female 3,066) 65 years and over: 11.3% (male 537; female 484) Population growth rate: 6.9% Life expectancy at birth: total population: years. male: years. female: years

Two volcanoes within the Soufriere Hills area; Soufriere Hills Volcano 3180ft AMSL Chances Peak 3000ft AMSL Became active in 1995 Destroyed and rendered more than half of Montserrat and leaving Plymouth with a population of Zero.