Compare British Indian Ocean Territory (2002) - Burma (2006)

Compare British Indian Ocean Territory (2002) z Burma (2006)

	British Indian Ocean Territory (2002)	Burma (2006)

Administrative divisions	-	7 divisions (taing-myar, singular - taing) and 7 states (pyi ne-myar, singular - pyi ne) divisions: Ayeyarwady, Bago, Magway, Mandalay, Sagaing, Tanintharyi, Yangon states: Chin State, Kachin State, Kayah State, Kayin State, Mon State, Rakhine State, Shan State
Age structure	-	0-14 years: 26.4% (male 6,335,236/female 6,181,216) 15-64 years: 68.5% (male 16,011,723/female 16,449,626) 65 years and over: 5.1% (male 1,035,853/female 1,368,979) (2006 est.)
Agriculture - products	-	rice, pulses, beans, sesame, groundnuts, sugarcane; hardwood; fish and fish products
Airports	1 (2001)	85 (2006)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2002)	total: 21 over 3,047 m: 8 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2006)
Airports - with unpaved runways	-	total: 64 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 13 914 to 1,523 m: 18 under 914 m: 32 (2006)
Area	total: 60 sq km land: 60 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes the entire Chagos Archipelago	total: 678,500 sq km land: 657,740 sq km water: 20,760 sq km
Area - comparative	about 0.3 times the size of Washington, DC	slightly smaller than Texas
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 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 which had excluded them from the archipelago, but upheld the special military status of Diego Garcia.	Britain conquered Burma over a period of 62 years (1824-1886) and incorporated it into its Indian Empire. Burma was administered as a province of India until 1937 when it became a separate, self-governing colony; independence from the Commonwealth was attained in 1948. Gen. NE WIN dominated the government from 1962 to 1988, first as military ruler, then as self-appointed president, and later as political kingpin. Despite multiparty legislative elections in 1990 that resulted in the main opposition party - the National League for Democracy (NLD) - winning a landslide victory, the ruling junta refused to hand over power. NLD leader and Nobel Peace Prize recipient AUNG SAN SUU KYI, who was under house arrest from 1989 to 1995 and 2000 to 2002, was imprisoned in May 2003 and subsequently transferred to house arrest, where she remains virtually incommunicado. In November 2005, the junta extended her detention for at least another six months. Her supporters, as well as all those who promote democracy and improved human rights, are routinely harassed or jailed.
Birth rate	-	17.91 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Budget	-	revenues: $473.3 million expenditures: $716.6 million; including capital expenditures of NA (FY04/05 est.)
Capital	-	name: Rangoon (Yangon) geographic coordinates: 16 47 N, 96 10 E time difference: UTC+6.5 (11.5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) note: Naypyidaw is being established as a government center
Climate	tropical marine; hot, humid, moderated by trade winds	tropical monsoon; cloudy, rainy, hot, humid summers (southwest monsoon, June to September); less cloudy, scant rainfall, mild temperatures, lower humidity during winter (northeast monsoon, December to April)
Coastline	698 km	1,930 km
Constitution	-	3 January 1974; suspended since 18 September 1988; national convention convened in 1993 to draft a new constitution but collapsed in 1996; reconvened in 2004 but does not include participation of democratic opposition
Country name	conventional long form: British Indian Ocean Territory conventional short form: none abbreviation: BIOT	conventional long form: Union of Burma conventional short form: Burma local long form: Pyidaungzu Myanma Naingngandaw (translated by the US Government as Union of Myanma and by the Burmese as Union of Myanmar) local short form: Myanma Naingngandaw former: Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma note: since 1989 the military authorities in Burma have promoted the name Myanmar as a conventional name for their state; this decision was not approved by any sitting legislature in Burma, and the US Government did not adopt the name, which is a derivative of the Burmese short-form name Myanma Naingngandaw
Death rate	-	9.83 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Debt - external	-	$6.99 billion (2005 est.)
Dependency status	overseas territory of the UK; administered by a commissioner, resident in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London	-
Diplomatic representation from the US	none (overseas territory of the UK)	chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Shari VILLAROSA embassy: 581 Merchant Street, Rangoon (GPO 521) mailing address: Box B, APO AP 96546 telephone: [95] (1) 379-880, 379-881 FAX: [95] (1) 256-018
Diplomatic representation in the US	none (overseas territory of the UK)	chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires MYINT LWIN chancery: 2300 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-3344 FAX: [1] (202) 332-4351 consulate(s) general: New York
Disputes - international	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; repatriation is complicated by the US military lease of Diego Garcia, the largest island in the chain	over half of Burma's population consists of diverse ethnic groups with substantial numbers of kin beyond its borders; despite continuing border committee talks, significant differences remain with Thailand over boundary alignment and the handling of ethnic rebels, refugees, and illegal cross-border activities; ethnic Karens flee into Thailand to escape fighting between Karen rebels and Burmese troops; in 2005 Thailand sheltered about 121,000 Burmese refugees; Karens also protest Thai support for a Burmese hydroelectric dam on the Salween River near the border; environmentalists in Burma and Thailand continue to voice concern over China's construction of hydroelectric dams upstream on the Nujiang/Salween River in Yunnan Province; India seeks cooperation from Burma to keep Indian Nagaland separatists from hiding in remote Burmese uplands
Economic aid - recipient	-	$127 million (2001 est.)
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.	Burma, a resource-rich country, suffers from pervasive government controls, inefficient economic policies, and rural poverty. The junta took steps in the early 1990s to liberalize the economy after decades of failure under the "Burmese Way to Socialism," but those efforts stalled, and some of the liberalization measures were rescinded. Burma does not have monetary or fiscal stability, so the economy suffers from serious macroeconomic imbalances - including inflation, multiple official exchange rates that overvalue the Burmese kyat, and a distorted interest rate regime. Most overseas development assistance ceased after the junta began to suppress the democracy movement in 1988 and subsequently refused to honor the results of the 1990 legislative elections. In response to the government of Burma's attack in May 2003 on AUNG SAN SUU KYI and her convoy, the US imposed new economic sanctions against Burma - including a ban on imports of Burmese products and a ban on provision of financial services by US persons. A poor investment climate further slowed the inflow of foreign exchange. The most productive sectors will continue to be in extractive industries, especially oil and gas, mining, and timber. Other areas, such as manufacturing and services, are struggling with inadequate infrastructure, unpredictable import/export policies, deteriorating health and education systems, and corruption. A major banking crisis in 2003 shuttered the country's 20 private banks and disrupted the economy. As of December 2005, the largest private banks operate under tight restrictions limiting the private sector's access to formal credit. Official statistics are inaccurate. Published statistics on foreign trade are greatly understated because of the size of the black market and unofficial border trade - often estimated to be as large as the official economy. Burma's trade with Thailand, China, and India is rising. Though the Burmese government has good economic relations with its neighbors, better investment and business climates and an improved political situation are needed to promote foreign investment, exports, and tourism.
Electricity - consumption	NA kWh	6.875 billion kWh (2003)
Electricity - exports	-	0 kWh (2003)
Electricity - imports	-	0 kWh (2004)
Electricity - production	NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by the US military	7.393 billion kWh (2003)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location on Diego Garcia 15 m	lowest point: Andaman Sea 0 m highest point: Hkakabo Razi 5,881 m
Environment - current issues	NA	deforestation; industrial pollution of air, soil, and water; inadequate sanitation and water treatment contribute to disease
Environment - international agreements	-	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94 signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Ethnic groups	-	Burman 68%, Shan 9%, Karen 7%, Rakhine 4%, Chinese 3%, Indian 2%, Mon 2%, other 5%
Exchange rates	-	kyats per US dollar - 5.761 (2005), 5.7459 (2004), 6.0764 (2003), 6.5734 (2002), 6.6841 (2001) note: these are official exchange rates; unofficial exchange rates ranged in 2004 from 815 kyat/US dollar to nearly 970 kyat/US dollar, and by year-end 2005, the unofficial exchange rate was 1,075 kyat/US dollar
Executive branch	chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952) head of government: Commissioner Alan HUCKLE (since 2001); 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: Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) Sr. Gen. THAN SHWE (since 23 April 1992) head of government: Prime Minister, Gen SOE WIN (since 19 October 2004) cabinet: Cabinet is overseen by the SPDC; military junta, so named 15 November 1997, assumed power 18 September 1988 under the name State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) elections: none
Exports	-	3,356 bbl/day (2003)
Exports - commodities	-	clothing, gas, wood products, pulses, beans, fish, rice
Exports - partners	-	Thailand 44.3%, India 12.3%, China 6.8%, Japan 5% (2005)
Fiscal year	-	1 April - 31 March
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	red with a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing, 14 white five-pointed stars encircling a cogwheel containing a stalk of rice; the 14 stars represent the seven administrative divisions and seven states
GDP - composition by sector	-	agriculture: 56.4% industry: 8.2% services: 35.3% (2005 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	-	5.2% (2005 est.)
Geographic coordinates	6 00 S, 71 30 E	22 00 N, 98 00 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	strategic location near major Indian Ocean shipping lanes
Heliports	-	1 (2006)
Highways	total: NA km paved: short stretch of paved road of NA km between port and airfield on Diego Garcia unpaved: NA km	-
Household income or consumption by percentage share	-	lowest 10%: 2.8% highest 10%: 32.4% (1998)
Illicit drugs	-	remains world's second largest producer of illicit opium (estimated production in 2004 - 292 metric tons, down 40% from 2003 due to eradication efforts and drought; cultivation in 2004 - 30,900 hectares, a 34% decline from 2003); lack of government will to take on major narcotrafficking groups and lack of serious commitment against money laundering continues to hinder the overall antidrug effort; major source of methamphetamine and heroin for regional consumption; currently under Financial Action Task Force countermeasures due to continued failure to address its inadequate money-laundering controls (2005)
Imports	-	49,230 bbl/day (2003)
Imports - commodities	-	fabric, petroleum products, plastics, machinery, transport equipment, construction materials, crude oil; food products
Imports - partners	-	China 28.8%, Thailand 21.8%, Singapore 18.3%, Malaysia 7.6% (2005)
Independence	-	4 January 1948 (from UK)
Industrial production growth rate	-	NA%
Industries	-	agricultural processing; knit and woven apparel; wood and wood products; copper, tin, tungsten, iron; construction materials; pharmaceuticals; fertilizer; cement; natural gas
Infant mortality rate	-	total: 61.85 deaths/1,000 live births male: 72.68 deaths/1,000 live births female: 50.38 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	-	20.2% (2005 est.)
International organization participation	-	APT, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, BIMSTEC, CP, EAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)	1 (2000)	-
Irrigated land	0 sq km (1998 est.)	18,700 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch	-	remnants of the British-era legal system are in place, but there is no guarantee of a fair public trial; the judiciary is not independent of the executive
Labor force	-	27.75 million (2005 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	-	agriculture: 70% industry: 7% services: 23% (2001)
Land boundaries	0 km	total: 5,876 km border countries: Bangladesh 193 km, China 2,185 km, India 1,463 km, Laos 235 km, Thailand 1,800 km
Land use	arable land: NEGL permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (1998 est.)	arable land: 14.92% permanent crops: 1.31% other: 83.77% (2005)
Languages	-	Burmese, minority ethnic groups have their own languages
Legal system	the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply	has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch	-	unicameral People's Assembly or Pyithu Hluttaw (485 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 27 May 1990, but Assembly never allowed by junta to convene election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NLD 392 (opposition), SNLD 23 (opposition), NUP 10 (pro-government), other 60
Life expectancy at birth	-	total population: 60.97 years male: 58.07 years female: 64.03 years (2006 est.)
Literacy	-	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 85.3% male: 89.2% female: 81.4% (2002)
Location	Southern Asia, archipelago in the Indian Ocean, about one-half the way from Africa to Indonesia	Southeastern Asia, bordering the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Bangladesh and Thailand
Map references	Political Map of the World	Southeast Asia
Maritime claims	exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 3 NM	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
Merchant marine	-	total: 34 ships (1000 GRT or over) 402,699 GRT/620,642 DWT by type: bulk carrier 8, cargo 20, passenger 2, passenger/cargo 3, specialized tanker 1 foreign-owned: 9 (Germany 5, Japan 4) (2006)
Military - note	defense is the responsibility of the UK; the US lease on Diego Garcia expires in 2016	-
Military branches	-	Myanmar Armed Forces (Tatmadaw): Army, Navy, Air Force (2005)
Military expenditures - dollar figure	-	$39 million (FY97)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	-	2.1% (FY97)
National holiday	-	Independence Day, 4 January (1948); Union Day, 12 February (1947)
Nationality	-	noun: Burmese (singular and plural) adjective: Burmese
Natural hazards	NA	destructive earthquakes and cyclones; flooding and landslides common during rainy season (June to September); periodic droughts
Natural resources	coconuts, fish, sugarcane	petroleum, timber, tin, antimony, zinc, copper, tungsten, lead, coal, some marble, limestone, precious stones, natural gas, hydropower
Net migration rate	-	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Pipelines	-	gas 2,224 km; oil 558 km (2006)
Political parties and leaders	-	National League for Democracy or NLD [AUNG SHWE, chairman, AUNG SAN SUU KYI, general secretary]; National Unity Party or NUP (pro-regime) [THA KYAW] (at last report); Shan Nationalities League for Democracy or SNLD [HKUN HTUN OO]; and other smaller parties
Political pressure groups and leaders	-	National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma or NCGUB (self-proclaimed government in exile) ["Prime Minister" Dr. SEIN WIN] consists of individuals, some legitimately elected to the People's Assembly in 1990 (the group fled to a border area and joined insurgents in December 1990 to form parallel government in exile); Kachin Independence Organization or KIO; Karen National Union or KNU; several Shan factions; United Wa State Army or UWSA; Union Solidarity and Development Association or USDA (pro-regime, a social and political mass-member organization) [HTAY OO, general secretary]
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 2001, there were approximately 1,500 UK and US military personnel and 2,000 civilian contractors living on the island of Diego Garcia (July 2002 est.)	47,382,633 note: estimates for this country take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2006 est.)
Population below poverty line	-	25% (2000 est.)
Population growth rate	-	0.81% (2006 est.)
Ports and harbors	Diego Garcia	-
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998)	AM 1, FM 1 (2004)
Radios	NA	-
Railways	-	total: 3,955 km narrow gauge: 3,955 km 1.000-m gauge (2005)
Religions	-	Buddhist 89%, Christian 4% (Baptist 3%, Roman Catholic 1%), Muslim 4%, animist 1%, other 2%
Sex ratio	-	at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2006 est.)
Suffrage	-	18 years of age; universal
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: barely meets minimum requirements for local and intercity service for business and government; international service is fair domestic: NA international: country code - 95; satellite earth station - 2, Intelsat (Indian Ocean), and ShinSat
Telephones - main lines in use	NA	476,200 (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular	-	183,400 (2005)
Television broadcast stations	1 (1997)	2 (2004)
Terrain	flat and low (most areas do not exceed four meters in elevation)	central lowlands ringed by steep, rugged highlands
Total fertility rate	-	1.98 children born/woman (2006 est.)
Unemployment rate	-	5% (2005 est.)
Waterways	none	12,800 km (2005)

Sitemap: Compare countries listing (map site) | Country listing (map site)
Links: Add to favorites | Information about this website | Stats | Polityka prywatnosci
This page was generated in ##czas## s. Size this page: ##rozmiar_strony## kB.