Compare British Indian Ocean Territory (2001) - Christmas Island (2008)

Compare British Indian Ocean Territory (2001) z Christmas Island (2008)

	British Indian Ocean Territory (2001)	Christmas Island (2008)

Administrative divisions	-	none (territory of Australia)
Age structure	-	0-14 years: NA 15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA
Agriculture - products	-	NA
Airports	1 (2000 est.)	1 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.)	total: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007)
Area	total: 60 sq km land: 60 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes the entire Chagos Archipelago	total: 135 sq km land: 135 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative	about 0.3 times the size of Washington, DC	about three-quarters the size of Washington, DC
Background	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 resident 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 which had excluded them from the archipelago, but upheld the special military status of Diego Garcia.	Named in 1643 for the day of its discovery, the island was annexed and settlement began by the UK in 1888. Phosphate mining began in the 1890s. The UK transferred sovereignty to Australia in 1958. Almost two-thirds of the island has been declared a national park.
Birth rate	-	NA
Budget	-	revenues: $NA expenditures: $NA
Capital	-	name: The Settlement geographic coordinates: 10 25 S, 105 43 E time difference: UTC+7 (12 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Climate	tropical marine; hot, humid, moderated by trade winds	tropical with a wet season (December to April) and dry season; heat and humidity moderated by trade winds
Coastline	698 km	138.9 km
Constitution	-	Christmas Island Act of 1958-59 (1 October 1958) as amended by the Territories Law Reform Act of 1992
Country name	conventional long form: British Indian Ocean Territory conventional short form: none abbreviation: BIOT	conventional long form: Territory of Christmas Island conventional short form: Christmas Island
Death rate	-	NA
Dependency status	overseas territory of the UK; administered by a commissioner, resident in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London	non-self governing territory of Australia; administered from Canberra by the Australian Attorney-General's Department
Diplomatic representation from the US	none (overseas territory of the UK)	none (territory of Australia)
Diplomatic representation in the US	none (overseas territory of the UK)	none (territory of Australia)
Disputes - international	the Chagos Archipelago is claimed by Mauritius and Seychelles	none
Economic aid - recipient	-	$NA
Economy - overview	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.	Phosphate mining had been the only significant economic activity, but in December 1987 the Australian Government closed the mine. In 1991, the mine was reopened. With the support of the government, a $34 million casino opened in 1993, but closed in 1998. The Australian Government in 2001 agreed to support the creation of a commercial space-launching site on the island, expected to begin operations in the near future.
Electricity - consumption	NA kWh	-
Electricity - production	NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by the US military	-
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location on Diego Garcia 15 m	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Murray Hill 361 m
Environment - current issues	NA	loss of rainforest; impact of phosphate mining
Ethnic groups	-	Chinese 70%, European 20%, Malay 10% note: no indigenous population (2001)
Exchange rates	-	Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.2137 (2007), 1.3285 (2006), 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003)
Executive branch	chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952) head of government: Commissioner John WHITE (since NA); Administrator Louise SAVILL (since NA); note - both reside in the UK cabinet: NA elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; commissioner and administrator appointed by the monarch	chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by the Australian governor general head of government: Administrator Neil LUCAS (since 30 January 2006) elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; administrator appointed by the governor general of Australia and represents the monarch and Australia
Exports	-	$NA
Exports - commodities	-	phosphate
Exports - partners	-	Australia, NZ (2006)
Fiscal year	-	1 July - 30 June
Flag description	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	territorial flag; divided diagonally from upper hoist to lower fly; the upper triangle is green with a yellow image of the Golden Bosun Bird superimposed, while the lower triangle is blue with the Southern Cross constellation, representing Australia, superimposed; a centered yellow disk displays a green map of the island note: the flag of Australia is used for official purposes
Geographic coordinates	6 00 S, 71 30 E	10 30 S, 105 40 E
Geography - note	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	located along major sea lanes of Indian Ocean
Highways	total: NA km paved: short stretch of paved road of NA km between port and airfield on Diego Garcia unpaved: NA km	-
Imports	-	$NA
Imports - commodities	-	consumer goods
Imports - partners	-	principally Australia (2006)
Independence	-	none (territory of Australia)
Industries	-	tourism, phosphate extraction (near depletion)
Infant mortality rate	-	total: NA male: NA female: NA
International organization participation	-	none
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)	1 (2000)	-
Irrigated land	0 sq km (1993)	NA
Judicial branch	-	Supreme Court; District Court; Magistrate's Court
Labor force	-	NA
Land boundaries	0 km	0 km
Land use	arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: NA% other: NA%	arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (mainly tropical rainforest; 63% of the island is a national park) (2005)
Languages	-	English (official), Chinese, Malay
Legal system	the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply	under the authority of the governor general of Australia and Australian law
Legislative branch	-	unicameral Christmas Island Shire Council (9 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: held every two years with half the members standing for election; last held 20 October 2007 (next to be held in 2009) election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - independents 9
Life expectancy at birth	-	total population: NA male: NA female: NA
Literacy	-	NA
Location	Southern Asia, archipelago in the Indian Ocean, about one-half the way from Africa to Indonesia	Southeastern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of Indonesia
Map references	World	Southeast Asia
Maritime claims	exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 3 NM	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 12 nm exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
Military - note	defense is the responsibility of the UK; the US lease on Diego Garcia expires in 2016	defense is the responsibility of Australia
National holiday	-	Australia Day, 26 January (1788)
Nationality	-	noun: Christmas Islander(s) adjective: Christmas Island
Natural hazards	NA	the narrow fringing reef surrounding the island can be a maritime hazard
Natural resources	coconuts, fish, sugarcane	phosphate, beaches
Net migration rate	-	NA
Political parties and leaders	-	none
Political pressure groups and leaders	-	none
Population	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 around the time of the construction of UK-US military facilities; in 1995, there were approximately 1,700 UK and US military personnel and 1,500 civilian contractors living on the island of Diego Garcia	1,402 (July 2006 est.) (July 2007 est.)
Population growth rate	-	0% (2007 est.)
Ports and harbors	Diego Garcia	-
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998)	AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (2006)
Radios	NA	-
Religions	-	Buddhist 36%, Muslim 25%, Christian 18%, other 21% (1997)
Sex ratio	-	NA
Telephone system	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)	general assessment: service provided by the Australian network domestic: GSM mobile telephone service replaced older analog system in February 2005 international: country code - 61-8; satellite earth stations - 1 INTELSAT earth station provides telephone and telex service (2005)
Telephones - main lines in use	NA	NA
Television broadcast stations	1 (1997)	0 (TV broadcasts received via satellite from mainland Australia) (2006)
Terrain	flat and low (most areas do not exceed four meters in elevation)	steep cliffs along coast rise abruptly to central plateau
Total fertility rate	-	NA
Waterways	none	-

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