Compare Australia (2006) - British Indian Ocean Territory (2005)

Compare Australia (2006) z British Indian Ocean Territory (2005)

	Australia (2006)	British Indian Ocean Territory (2005)

Administrative divisions	6 states and 2 territories; Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia*	-
Age structure	0-14 years: 19.6% (male 2,031,313/female 1,936,802) 15-64 years: 67.3% (male 6,881,863/female 6,764,709) 65 years and over: 13.1% (male 1,170,589/female 1,478,806) (2006 est.)	-
Agriculture - products	wheat, barley, sugarcane, fruits, cattle, sheep, poultry	-
Airports	455 (2006)	1 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 311 over 3,047 m: 10 2,438 to 3,047 m: 12 1,524 to 2,437 m: 133 914 to 1,523 m: 143 under 914 m: 13 (2006)	total: 1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 144 1,524 to 2,437 m: 18 914 to 1,523 m: 111 under 914 m: 15 (2006)	-
Area	total: 7,686,850 sq km land: 7,617,930 sq km water: 68,920 sq km note: includes Lord Howe Island and Macquarie Island	total: 60 sq km land: 60 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes the entire Chagos Archipelago
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than the US contiguous 48 states	about 0.3 times the size of Washington, DC
Background	Aboriginal settlers arrived on the continent from Southeast Asia about 40,000 years before the first Europeans began exploration in the 17th century. No formal territorial claims were made until 1770, when Capt. James COOK took possession in the name of Great Britain. Six colonies were created in the late 18th and 19th centuries; they federated and became the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901. The new country took advantage of its natural resources to rapidly develop agricultural and manufacturing industries and to make a major contribution to the British effort in World Wars I and II. In recent decades, Australia has transformed itself into an internationally competitive, advanced market economy. It boasted one of the OECD's fastest growing economies during the 1990s, a performance due in large part to economic reforms adopted in the 1980s. Long-term concerns include pollution, particularly depletion of the ozone layer, and management and conservation of coastal areas, especially the Great Barrier Reef.	Established as a territory of the UK in 1965, a number of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) islands were transferred to the Seychelles when it attained independence in 1976. Subsequently, BIOT has consisted only of the six main island groups comprising the Chagos Archipelago. The largest and most southerly of the islands, Diego Garcia, contains a joint UK-US naval support facility. All of the remaining islands are uninhabited. Former agricultural workers, earlier residents in the islands, were relocated primarily to Mauritius but also to the Seychelles, between 1967 and 1973. In 2000, a British High Court ruling invalidated the local immigration order that had excluded them from the archipelago, but upheld the special military status of Diego Garcia.
Birth rate	12.14 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)	-
Budget	revenues: $249.8 billion expenditures: $240.2 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.)	-
Capital	name: Canberra geographic coordinates: 35 17 S, 149 08 E time difference: UTC+10 (15 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in October; ends last Sunday in March (ended first Sunday in April 2006) note: Australia is divided into three time zones	-
Climate	generally arid to semiarid; temperate in south and east; tropical in north	tropical marine; hot, humid, moderated by trade winds
Coastline	25,760 km	698 km
Constitution	9 July 1900, effective 1 January 1901	-
Country name	conventional long form: Commonwealth of Australia conventional short form: Australia	conventional long form: British Indian Ocean Territory conventional short form: none abbreviation: BIOT
Death rate	7.51 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)	-
Debt - external	$323.4 billion (2005 est.)	-
Dependency status	-	overseas territory of the UK; administered by a commissioner, resident in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London
Dependent areas	Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Coral Sea Islands, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Norfolk Island, Macquarie Island	-
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Robert D. McCALLUM, Jr. embassy: Moonah Place, Yarralumla, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 2600 mailing address: APO AP 96549 telephone: [61] (02) 6214-5600 FAX: [61] (02) 6214-5970 consulate(s) general: Melbourne, Perth, Sydney	none (overseas territory of the UK)
Diplomatic representation in the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Dennis J. RICHARDSON chancery: 1601 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 797-3000 FAX: [1] (202) 797-3168 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Chicago, Honolulu, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco	none (overseas territory of the UK)
Disputes - international	East Timor and Australia agreed in 2005 to defer the disputed portion of the boundary for fifty years and to split hydrocarbon revenues evenly outside the Joint Petroleum Development Area covered by the 2002 Timor Sea Treaty; East Timor dispute hampers creation of a revised maritime boundary with Indonesia (see also Ashmore and Cartier Islands dispute); regional states express concern over Australia's 2004 declaration of a 1,000-nautical mile-wide maritime identification zone; Australia asserts land and maritime claims to Antarctica (see Antarctica); in 2004 Australia submitted its claims to UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) to extend its continental margin from both its mainland and Antarctic claims	Mauritius and Seychelles claim the Chagos Archipelago and its former inhabitants, who reside chiefly in Mauritius, but in 2001 were granted UK citizenship and the right to repatriation since eviction in 1965; the UK resists the Chagossians' demand for an immediate return to the islands; repatriation is complicated by the exclusive US military lease of Diego Garcia that restricts access to the largest island in the chain
Economic aid - donor	ODA, $894 million (FY99/00)	-
Economy - overview	Australia has an enviable Western-style capitalist economy with a per capita GDP on par with the four dominant West European economies. Rising output in the domestic economy, robust business and consumer confidence, and rising exports of raw materials and agricultural products are fueling the economy. Australia's emphasis on reforms, low inflation, and growing ties with China are other key factors behind the economy's strength. The impact of drought, weak foreign demand, and strong import demand pushed the trade deficit up from $8 billion in 2002, to $18 billion in 2003, $13 billion in 2004, and nearly $17 billion in 2005. Housing prices probably peaked in 2005, diminishing the prospect that interest rates would be raised to prevent a speculative bubble. Conservative fiscal policies have kept Australia's budget in surplus from 2002 to 2005.	All economic activity is concentrated on the largest island of Diego Garcia, where joint UK-US defense facilities are located. Construction projects and various services needed to support the military installations are done by military and contract employees from the UK, Mauritius, the Philippines, and the US. There are no industrial or agricultural activities on the islands. When the Ilois return, they plan to reestablish sugarcane production and fishing.
Electricity - consumption	221 billion kWh (2004)	NA kWh
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2003)	-
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2003)	-
Electricity - production	237 billion kWh (2004)	NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by the US military
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Lake Eyre -15 m highest point: Mount Kosciuszko 2,229 m	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location on Diego Garcia 15 m
Environment - current issues	soil erosion from overgrazing, industrial development, urbanization, and poor farming practices; soil salinity rising due to the use of poor quality water; desertification; clearing for agricultural purposes threatens the natural habitat of many unique animal and plant species; the Great Barrier Reef off the northeast coast, the largest coral reef in the world, is threatened by increased shipping and its popularity as a tourist site; limited natural fresh water resources	NA
Environment - international agreements	party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol	-
Ethnic groups	Caucasian 92%, Asian 7%, aboriginal and other 1%	-
Exchange rates	Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001)	-
Executive branch	chief of state: Queen of Australia ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Michael JEFFERY (since 11 August 2003) head of government: Prime Minister John Winston HOWARD (since 11 March 1996); Deputy Prime Minister Mark VAILE (since 6 July 2005) cabinet: prime minister nominates, from among members of Parliament, candidates who are subsequently sworn in by the governor general to serve as government ministers elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the prime minister; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition is sworn in as prime minister by the governor general note: government coalition - Liberal Party and National Party	chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952) head of government: Commissioner Tony CROMBIE (since January 2004); Administrator Tony HUMPHRIES (since February 2005); note - both reside in the UK cabinet: NA elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; commissioner and administrator appointed by the monarch
Exports	523,400 bbl/day (2001)	-
Exports - commodities	coal, gold, meat, wool, alumina, iron ore, wheat, machinery and transport equipment	-
Exports - partners	Japan 20.3%, China 11.5%, South Korea 7.9%, US 6.7%, NZ 6.5%, India 5% (2005)	-
Fiscal year	1 July - 30 June	-
Flag description	blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and a large seven-pointed star in the lower hoist-side quadrant known as the Commonwealth or Federation Star, representing the federation of the colonies of Australia in 1901; the star depicts one point for each of the six original states and one representing all of Australia's internal and external territories; on the fly half is a representation of the Southern Cross constellation in white with one small five-pointed star and four larger, seven-pointed stars	white with six blue wavy horizontal stripes; the flag of the UK is in the upper hoist-side quadrant; the striped section bears a palm tree and yellow crown centered on the outer half of the flag
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 3.8% industry: 26.2% services: 70% (2004 est.)	-
GDP - real growth rate	2.7% (2005 est.)	-
Geographic coordinates	27 00 S, 133 00 E	6 00 S, 71 30 E
Geography - note	world's smallest continent but sixth-largest country; population concentrated along the eastern and southeastern coasts; the invigorating tropical sea breeze known as the "Fremantle Doctor" affects the city of Perth on the west coast, and is one of the most consistent winds in the world	archipelago of 2,300 islands; Diego Garcia, largest and southernmost island, occupies strategic location in central Indian Ocean; island is site of joint US-UK military facility
Heliports	1 (2006)	-
Highways	-	total: NA km paved: short section of paved road between port and airfield on Diego Garcia unpaved: NA km
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: 2% highest 10%: 25.4% (1994)	-
Illicit drugs	Tasmania is one of the world's major suppliers of licit opiate products; government maintains strict controls over areas of opium poppy cultivation and output of poppy straw concentrate	-
Imports	530,800 bbl/day (2001)	-
Imports - commodities	machinery and transport equipment, computers and office machines, telecommunication equipment and parts; crude oil and petroleum products	-
Imports - partners	US 13.9%, China 13.7%, Japan 11%, Singapore 5.6%, Germany 5.6% (2005)	-
Independence	1 January 1901 (federation of UK colonies)	-
Industrial production growth rate	1.1% (2005 est.)	-
Industries	mining, industrial and transportation equipment, food processing, chemicals, steel	-
Infant mortality rate	total: 4.63 deaths/1,000 live births male: 5.02 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.22 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)	-
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	2.7% (2005 est.)	-
International organization participation	ANZUS, APEC, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, C, CP, EAS, EBRD, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OECD, OPCW, Paris Club, PCA, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNMIS, UNRWA, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC	-
Irrigated land	25,450 sq km (2003)	0 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch	High Court (the chief justice and six other justices are appointed by the governor general)	-
Labor force	10.42 million (2005 est.)	-
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: 3.6% industry: 21.2% services: 75.2% (2004 est.)	-
Land boundaries	0 km	0 km
Land use	arable land: 6.15% (includes about 27 million hectares of cultivated grassland) permanent crops: 0.04% other: 93.81% (2005)	arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2001)
Languages	English 79.1%, Chinese 2.1%, Italian 1.9%, other 11.1%, unspecified 5.8% (2001 Census)	-
Legal system	based on English common law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations	the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply
Legislative branch	bicameral Federal Parliament consists of the Senate (76 seats - 12 from each of the six states and 2 from each of the two mainland territories; one-half of state members are elected every three years by popular vote to serve six-year terms while all territory members are elected every three years) and the House of Representatives (150 seats; members elected by popular preferential voting to serve terms of up to three-years; no state can have fewer than 5 representatives) elections: Senate - last held 9 October 2004 (next to be held no later than June 2008); House of Representatives - last held 9 October 2004 (next to be called no later than November 2007) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Liberal Party-National Party coalition 39, Australian Labor Party 28, Democrats 4, Australian Greens 4, Family First Party 1; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Liberal Party-National Party coalition 87, Australian Labor Party 60, independents 3	-
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 80.5 years male: 77.64 years female: 83.52 years (2006 est.)	-
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (2003 est.)	-
Location	Oceania, continent between the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean	archipelago in the Indian Ocean, south of India, about one-half the way from Africa to Indonesia
Map references	Oceania	Political Map of the World
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin	territorial sea: 3 nm exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
Merchant marine	total: 53 ships (1000 GRT or over) 1,361,000 GRT/1,532,874 DWT by type: bulk carrier 17, cargo 4, chemical tanker 3, container 1, liquefied gas 4, passenger 6, passenger/cargo 7, petroleum tanker 6, roll on/roll off 5 foreign-owned: 17 (Canada 1, France 3, Germany 3, Japan 1, Netherlands 2, Norway 1, Philippines 1, UK 2, US 3) registered in other countries: 34 (Antigua and Barbuda 1, Bahamas 2, Bermuda 3, Fiji 1, Hong Kong 1, Liberia 2, Marshall Islands 2, Netherlands 1, NZ 2, Panama 3, Portugal 1, Singapore 7, Tonga 1, UK 3, US 2, Vanuatu 2) (2006)	-
Military - note	-	defense is the responsibility of the UK; the US lease on Diego Garcia expires in 2016
Military branches	Australian Defense Force (ADF): Australian Army, Royal Australian Navy, Royal Australian Air Force, Special Operations Command	-
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$17.84 billion (2005 est.)	-
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	2.7% (2005 est.)	-
National holiday	Australia Day, 26 January (1788)	-
Nationality	noun: Australian(s) adjective: Australian	-
Natural hazards	cyclones along the coast; severe droughts; forest fires	NA
Natural resources	bauxite, coal, iron ore, copper, tin, gold, silver, uranium, nickel, tungsten, mineral sands, lead, zinc, diamonds, natural gas, petroleum	coconuts, fish, sugarcane
Net migration rate	3.85 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)	-
Pipelines	condensate/gas 546 km; gas 31,323 km; liquid petroleum gas 240 km; oil 4,808 km; oil/gas/water 110 km (2006)	-
Political parties and leaders	Australian Democrats [Lyn ALLISON]; Australian Greens [Bob BROWN]; Australian Labor Party [Kevin RUDD]; Country Liberal Party [Jodeen CARNEY]; Family First Party [Steve FIELDING]; Liberal Party [John Winston HOWARD]; The Nationals [Mark VAILE]	-
Population	20,264,082 (July 2006 est.)	no indigenous inhabitants note: approximately 1,200 former agricultural workers resident in the Chagos Archipelago, often referred to as Chagossians or Ilois, were relocated to Mauritius and the Seychelles in the 1960s and 1970s, in November 2000 they were granted the right of return by a British High Court ruling, though no timetable has been set; in 2001, there were approximately 1,500 UK and US military personnel and 2,000 civilian contractors living on the island of Diego Garcia (July 2005 est.)
Population below poverty line	NA%	-
Population growth rate	0.85% (2006 est.)	-
Ports and harbors	-	Diego Garcia
Radio broadcast stations	AM 262, FM 345, shortwave 1 (1998)	AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998)
Railways	total: 47,738 km broad gauge: 4,015 km 1.600-m gauge standard gauge: 28,662 km 1.435-m gauge (1,397 km electrified) narrow gauge: 14,831 km 1.067-m gauge (2,462 km electrified) dual gauge: 230 km dual gauge (2005)	-
Religions	Catholic 26.4%, Anglican 20.5%, other Christian 20.5%, Buddhist 1.9%, Muslim 1.5%, other 1.2%, unspecified 12.7%, none 15.3% (2001 Census)	-
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2006 est.)	-
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal and compulsory	-
Telephone system	general assessment: excellent domestic and international service domestic: domestic satellite system; much use of radiotelephone in areas of low population density; rapid growth of mobile cellular telephones international: country code - 61; submarine cables to New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and Indonesia; satellite earth stations - 19 (10 Intelsat - 4 Indian Ocean and 6 Pacific Ocean, 2 Inmarsat - Indian and Pacific Ocean regions, 2 Globalstar, 5 other) (2005)	general assessment: separate facilities for military and public needs are available domestic: all commercial telephone services are available, including connection to the Internet international: international telephone service is carried by satellite (2000)
Telephones - main lines in use	11.46 million (2005)	NA
Telephones - mobile cellular	18.42 million (2005)	-
Television broadcast stations	104 (1997)	1 (1997)
Terrain	mostly low plateau with deserts; fertile plain in southeast	flat and low (most areas do not exceed four meters in elevation)
Total fertility rate	1.76 children born/woman (2006 est.)	-
Unemployment rate	5.1% (2005 est.)	-
Waterways	2,000 km (mainly used for recreation on Murray and Murray-Darling river systems) (2002)	-

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