Arctic Ocean (2001) | Anguilla (2008) | |
Administrative divisions | - | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Age structure | - | 0-14 years: 22.3% (male 1,546/female 1,502)
15-64 years: 70.8% (male 4,979/female 4,705) 65 years and over: 6.9% (male 423/female 522) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | - | small quantities of tobacco, vegetables; cattle raising |
Airports | - | 3 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | - | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 2
under 914 m: 2 (2007) |
Area | total:
14.056 million sq km note: includes Baffin Bay, Barents Sea, Beaufort Sea, Chukchi Sea, East Siberian Sea, Greenland Sea, Hudson Bay, Hudson Strait, Kara Sea, Laptev Sea, Northwest Passage, and other tributary water bodies |
total: 102 sq km
land: 102 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly less than 1.5 times the size of the US | about half the size of Washington, DC |
Background | The Arctic Ocean is the smallest of the world's five oceans (after the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, and the recently delimited Southern Ocean). The Northwest Passage (US and Canada) and Northern Sea Route (Norway and Russia) are two important seasonal waterways. A sparse network of air, ocean, river, and land routes circumscribes the Arctic Ocean. | Colonized by English settlers from Saint Kitts in 1650, Anguilla was administered by Great Britain until the early 19th century, when the island - against the wishes of the inhabitants - was incorporated into a single British dependency, along with Saint Kitts and Nevis. Several attempts at separation failed. In 1971, two years after a revolt, Anguilla was finally allowed to secede; this arrangement was formally recognized in 1980, with Anguilla becoming a separate British dependency. |
Birth rate | - | 13.97 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | - | revenues: $22.8 million
expenditures: $22.5 million (2000 est.) |
Capital | - | name: The Valley
geographic coordinates: 18 13 N, 63 03 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | polar climate characterized by persistent cold and relatively narrow annual temperature ranges; winters characterized by continuous darkness, cold and stable weather conditions, and clear skies; summers characterized by continuous daylight, damp and foggy weather, and weak cyclones with rain or snow | tropical; moderated by northeast trade winds |
Coastline | 45,389 km | 61 km |
Constitution | - | Anguilla Constitutional Order 1 April 1982; amended 1990 |
Country name | - | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Anguilla |
Death rate | - | 5.34 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | - | $8.8 million (1998) |
Dependency status | - | overseas territory of the UK |
Diplomatic representation from the US | - | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | - | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Disputes - international | some maritime disputes (see littoral states) | none |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $9 million (2004 est.) |
Economy - overview | Economic activity is limited to the exploitation of natural resources, including petroleum, natural gas, fish, and seals. | Anguilla has few natural resources, and the economy depends heavily on luxury tourism, offshore banking, lobster fishing, and remittances from emigrants. Increased activity in the tourism industry, which has spurred the growth of the construction sector, has contributed to economic growth. Anguillan officials have put substantial effort into developing the offshore financial sector, which is small, but growing. In the medium term, prospects for the economy will depend largely on the tourism sector and, therefore, on revived income growth in the industrialized nations as well as on favorable weather conditions. |
Electricity - production | - | NA kWh |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Fram Basin -4,665 m highest point: sea level 0 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Crocus Hill 65 m |
Environment - current issues | endangered marine species include walruses and whales; fragile ecosystem slow to change and slow to recover from disruptions or damage; thinning polar icepack | supplies of potable water sometimes cannot meet increasing demand largely because of poor distribution system |
Ethnic groups | - | black (predominant) 90.1%, mixed, mulatto 4.6%, white 3.7%, other 1.5% (2001 Census) |
Exchange rates | - | East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7 (2007), 2.7 (2006), 2.7 (2005), 2.7 (2004), 2.7 (2003)
note: fixed rate since 1976 |
Executive branch | - | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor Andrew N. GEORGE (since 10 July 2006)
head of government: Chief Minister Osbourne FLEMING (since 3 March 2000) cabinet: Executive Council appointed by the governor from among the elected members of the House of Assembly elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed chief minister by the governor |
Exports | - | $13 million (2006) |
Exports - commodities | - | lobster, fish, livestock, salt, concrete blocks, rum |
Exports - partners | - | UK, US, Puerto Rico, Saint-Martin (2006) |
Fiscal year | - | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | - | blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Anguillan coat of arms centered in the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms depicts three orange dolphins in an interlocking circular design on a white background with blue wavy water below |
GDP - composition by sector | - | agriculture: 4%
industry: 18% services: 78% (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | - | 10.2% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 90 00 N, 0 00 E | 18 15 N, 63 10 W |
Geography - note | major chokepoint is the southern Chukchi Sea (northern access to the Pacific Ocean via the Bering Strait); strategic location between North America and Russia; shortest marine link between the extremes of eastern and western Russia; floating research stations operated by the US and Russia; maximum snow cover in March or April about 20 to 50 centimeters over the frozen ocean; snow cover lasts about 10 months | the most northerly of the Leeward Islands in the Lesser Antilles |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | - | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | - | transshipment point for South American narcotics destined for the US and Europe |
Imports | - | $143 million (2006) |
Imports - commodities | - | fuels, foodstuffs, manufactures, chemicals, trucks, textiles |
Imports - partners | - | US, Puerto Rico, UK (2006) |
Independence | - | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | - | 3.1% (1997 est.) |
Industries | - | tourism, boat building, offshore financial services |
Infant mortality rate | - | total: 19.61 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 25.74 deaths/1,000 live births female: 13.3 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | - | 5.3% (2006 est.) |
International organization participation | - | Caricom (associate), CDB, Interpol (subbureau), OECS, UPU |
Irrigated land | - | NA |
Judicial branch | - | High Court (judge provided by Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court) |
Labor force | - | 6,049 (2001) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture/fishing/forestry/mining 4%, manufacturing 3%, construction 18%, transportation and utilities 10%, commerce 36%, services 29% (2000 est.) |
Land boundaries | - | 0 km |
Land use | - | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (mostly rock with sparse scrub oak, few trees, some commercial salt ponds) (2005) |
Languages | - | English (official) |
Legal system | - | based on English common law |
Legislative branch | - | unicameral House of Assembly (11 seats; 7 members elected by direct popular vote, 2 ex officio members, and 2 appointed; to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 21 February 2005 (next to be held in 2010) election results: percent of vote by party - AUF 38.9%, AUM 19.4%, ANSA 19.2%, APP 9.5%, independents 13%; seats by party - AUF 4, ANSA 2, AUM 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | - | total population: 77.46 years
male: 74.53 years female: 80.49 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | - | definition: age 12 and over can read and write
total population: 95% male: 95% female: 95% (1984 est.) |
Location | body of water between Europe, Asia, and North America, mostly north of the Arctic Circle | Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico |
Map references | Arctic Region | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | - | territorial sea: 3 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the UK |
National holiday | - | Anguilla Day, 30 May (1967) |
Nationality | - | noun: Anguillan(s)
adjective: Anguillan |
Natural hazards | ice islands occasionally break away from northern Ellesmere Island; icebergs calved from glaciers in western Greenland and extreme northeastern Canada; permafrost in islands; virtually ice locked from October to June; ships subject to superstructure icing from October to May | frequent hurricanes and other tropical storms (July to October) |
Natural resources | sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits, polymetallic nodules, oil and gas fields, fish, marine mammals (seals and whales) | salt, fish, lobster |
Net migration rate | - | 5.12 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | - | Anguilla United Movement or AUM [Hubert HUGHES]; The Anguilla United Front or AUF [Osbourne FLEMING, Victor BANKS] (a coalition of the Anguilla Democratic Party or ADP and the Anguilla National Alliance or ANA); Anguilla Progressive Party or APP [Roy ROGERS]; Anguilla Strategic Alternative or ANSA [Edison BAIRD] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | - | NA |
Population | - | 13,677 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | - | 23% (2002) |
Population growth rate | - | 1.375% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Churchill (Canada), Murmansk (Russia), Prudhoe Bay (US) | - |
Radio broadcast stations | - | AM 2, FM 7, shortwave 0 (2004) |
Religions | - | Anglican 29%, Methodist 23.9%, other Protestant 30.2%, Roman Catholic 5.7%, other Christian 1.7%, other 5.2%, none or unspecified 4.3% (2001 census) |
Sex ratio | - | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.029 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.058 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.81 male(s)/female total population: 1.033 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | - | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | - | general assessment: NA
domestic: modern internal telephone system international: country code - 1-264; landing point for the East Caribbean Fiber System (ECFS) optic submarine cable with links to 13 other islands in the eastern Caribbean extending from the British Virgin Islands to Trinidad; microwave radio relay to island of Saint Martin (Guadeloupe and Netherlands Antilles) (2007) |
Telephones - main lines in use | - | 6,200 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | - | 1,800 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | - | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | central surface covered by a perennial drifting polar icepack that averages about 3 meters in thickness, although pressure ridges may be three times that size; clockwise drift pattern in the Beaufort Gyral Stream, but nearly straight-line movement from the New Siberian Islands (Russia) to Denmark Strait (between Greenland and Iceland); the icepack is surrounded by open seas during the summer, but more than doubles in size during the winter and extends to the encircling landmasses; the ocean floor is about 50% continental shelf (highest percentage of any ocean) with the remainder a central basin interrupted by three submarine ridges (Alpha Cordillera, Nansen Cordillera, and Lomonosov Ridge) | flat and low-lying island of coral and limestone |
Total fertility rate | - | 1.72 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | - | 8% (2002) |