Compare British Indian Ocean Territory (2002) - Estonia (2005)

Compare British Indian Ocean Territory (2002) z Estonia (2005)

	British Indian Ocean Territory (2002)	Estonia (2005)

Administrative divisions	-	15 counties (maakonnad, singular - maakond): Harjumaa (Tallinn), Hiiumaa (Kardla), Ida-Virumaa (Johvi), Jarvamaa (Paide), Jogevamaa (Jogeva), Laanemaa (Haapsalu), Laane-Virumaa (Rakvere), Parnumaa (Parnu), Polvamaa (Polva), Raplamaa (Rapla), Saaremaa (Kuressaare), Tartumaa (Tartu), Valgamaa (Valga), Viljandimaa (Viljandi), Vorumaa (Voru) note: counties have the administrative center name following in parentheses
Age structure	-	0-14 years: 15.5% (male 106,300/female 100,446) 15-64 years: 67.7% (male 429,843/female 472,034) 65 years and over: 16.8% (male 74,037/female 150,233) (2005 est.)
Agriculture - products	-	potatoes, vegetables; livestock and dairy products; fish
Airports	1 (2001)	29 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2002)	total: 14 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways	-	total: 15 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 6 (2004 est.)
Area	total: 60 sq km land: 60 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes the entire Chagos Archipelago	total: 45,226 sq km land: 43,211 sq km water: 2,015 sq km note: includes 1,520 islands in the Baltic Sea
Area - comparative	about 0.3 times the size of Washington, DC	slightly smaller than New Hampshire and Vermont combined
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.	After centuries of Danish, Swedish, German, and Russian rule, Estonia attained independence in 1918. Forcibly incorporated into the USSR in 1940, it regained its freedom in 1991, with the collapse of the Soviet Union. Since the last Russian troops left in 1994, Estonia has been free to promote economic and political ties with Western Europe. It joined both NATO and the EU in the spring of 2004.
Birth rate	-	9.91 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Budget	-	revenues: $4.622 billion expenditures: $4.601 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.)
Capital	-	Tallinn
Climate	tropical marine; hot, humid, moderated by trade winds	maritime, wet, moderate winters, cool summers
Coastline	698 km	3,794 km
Constitution	-	adopted 28 June 1992
Country name	conventional long form: British Indian Ocean Territory conventional short form: none abbreviation: BIOT	conventional long form: Republic of Estonia conventional short form: Estonia local long form: Eesti Vabariik local short form: Eesti former: Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic
Death rate	-	13.21 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Debt - external	-	$8.373 billion (2004 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 Aldona Zofia WOS embassy: Kentmanni 20, 15099 Tallinn mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [372] 668-8100 FAX: [372] 668-8134
Diplomatic representation in the US	none (overseas territory of the UK)	chief of mission: Ambassador Juri LUIK chancery: 2131 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 588-0101 FAX: [1] (202) 588-0108 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	in 1996, the Estonia-Russia technical border agreement was initialed but both states have been hesitant to sign and ratify it, with Russia asserting that Estonia needs to better assimilate Russian-speakers and Estonian groups pressing for realignment of the boundary based more closely on the 1920 Tartu Peace Treaty that would bring the now divided ethnic Setu people and parts of the Narva region within Estonia; as a member state that forms part of the EU's external border, Estonia must implement the strict Schengen border rules
Economic aid - recipient	-	$108 million (2000)
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.	Estonia, as a new member of the World Trade Organization and the European Union, has transitioned effectively to a modern market economy with strong ties to the West, including the pegging of its currency to the euro. The economy benefits from strong electronics and telecommunications sectors and is greatly influenced by developments in Finland, Sweden, and Germany, three major trading partners. The current account deficit remains high; however, the state budget enjoyed a surplus of $130 million in 2003.
Electricity - consumption	NA kWh	6.358 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports	-	1.562 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports	-	200 million kWh (2002)
Electricity - production	NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by the US military	8.301 billion kWh (2002)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location on Diego Garcia 15 m	lowest point: Baltic Sea 0 m highest point: Suur Munamagi 318 m
Environment - current issues	NA	air polluted with sulfur dioxide from oil-shale burning power plants in northeast; however, the amount of pollutants emitted to the air have fallen steadily, the emissions of 2000 were 80% less than in 1980; the amount of unpurified wastewater discharged to water bodies in 2000 was one twentieth the level of 1980; in connection with the start-up of new water purification plants, the pollution load of wastewater decreased; Estonia has more than 1,400 natural and manmade lakes, the smaller of which in agricultural areas need to be monitored; coastal seawater is polluted in certain locations
Environment - international agreements	-	party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ship Pollution, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Ethnic groups	-	Estonian 67.9%, Russian 25.6%, Ukrainian 2.1%, Belarusian 1.3%, Finn 0.9%, other 2.2% (2000 census)
Exchange rates	-	krooni per US dollar - 12.596 (2004), 13.856 (2003), 16.612 (2002), 17.478 (2001), 16.969 (2000)
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: President Arnold RUUTEL (since 8 October 2001) head of government: Prime Minister Andrus ANSIP (since 12 April 2005) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister, approved by Parliament elections: president elected by Parliament for a five-year term; if a candidate does not secure two-thirds of the votes after three rounds of balloting in the Parliament, then an electoral assembly (made up of Parliament plus members of local governments) elects the president, choosing between the two candidates with the largest percentage of votes; election last held 21 September 2001 (next to be held in the fall of 2006); prime minister nominated by the president and approved by Parliament election results: Arnold RUUTEL elected president on 21 September 2001 by a 367-member electoral assembly that convened following Parliament's failure in August to elect then-President MERI's successor; on the second ballot of voting, RUUTEL received 186 votes to Parliament Speaker Toomas SAVI's 155; the remaining 26 ballots were either left blank or invalid
Exports	-	NA
Exports - commodities	-	machinery and equipment 33%, wood and paper 15%, textiles 14%, food products 8%, furniture 7%, metals, chemical products (2001)
Exports - partners	-	Finland 23.1%, Sweden 15.3%, Germany 8.4%, Latvia 7.9%, Russia 5.7%, Lithuania 4.4% (2004)
Fiscal year	-	calendar year
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	pre-1940 flag restored by Supreme Soviet in May 1990 - three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), black, and white
GDP - composition by sector	-	agriculture: 4.1% industry: 28.9% services: 67% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita	-	purchasing power parity - $14,300 (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	-	6% (2004 est.)
Geographic coordinates	6 00 S, 71 30 E	59 00 N, 26 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	the mainland terrain is flat, boggy, and partly wooded; offshore lie more than 1,500 islands
Highways	total: NA km paved: short stretch of paved road of NA km between port and airfield on Diego Garcia unpaved: NA km	total: 55,944 km paved: 13,874 km (including 99 km of expressways) unpaved: 42,070 km (2002)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	-	lowest 10%: 3% highest 10%: 29.8% (1998)
Illicit drugs	-	transshipment point for opiates and cannabis from Southwest Asia and the Caucasus via Russia, cocaine from Latin America to Western Europe and Scandinavia, and synthetic drugs from Western Europe to Scandinavia; increasing domestic drug abuse problem; possible precursor manufacturing and/or trafficking; potential money laundering related to organized crime and drug trafficking is a concern as is possible use of the gambling sector to launder funds
Imports	-	NA
Imports - commodities	-	machinery and equipment 33.5%, chemical products 11.6%, textiles 10.3%, foodstuffs 9.4%, transportation equipment 8.9% (2001)
Imports - partners	-	Finland 22.1%, Germany 12.9%, Sweden 9.7%, Russia 9.2%, Lithuania 5.3%, Latvia 4.7% (2004)
Independence	-	20 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)
Industrial production growth rate	-	5% (2000 est.)
Industries	-	engineering, electronics, wood and wood products, textile; information technology, telecommunications
Infant mortality rate	-	total: 7.87 deaths/1,000 live births male: 9.06 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.6 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	-	3% (2004 est.)
International organization participation	-	Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CE, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EU (new member), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NATO, NIB, NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WEU (member affiliate), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)	1 (2000)	-
Irrigated land	0 sq km (1998 est.)	40 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch	-	National Court (chairman appointed by Parliament for life)
Labor force	-	660,000 (2004 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	-	agriculture 11%, industry 20%, services 69% (1999 est.)
Land boundaries	0 km	total: 633 km border countries: Latvia 339 km, Russia 294 km
Land use	arable land: NEGL permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (1998 est.)	arable land: 16.04% permanent crops: 0.45% other: 83.51% (2001)
Languages	-	Estonian (official) 67.3%, Russian 29.7%, other 2.3%, unknown 0.7% (2000 census)
Legal system	the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply	based on civil law system; no judicial review of legislative acts
Legislative branch	-	unicameral Parliament or Riigikogu (101 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 2 March 2003 (next to be held NA March 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - Center Party 25.4%, Res Publica 24.6%, Reform Party 17.7%, Estonian People's Union 13%, Pro Patria Union (Fatherland League) 7.3% People's Party Moodukad 7%; seats by party - Center Party 28, Res Publica 28, Reform Party 19, Estonian People's Union 13, Pro Patria Union 7, People's Party Moodukad 6
Life expectancy at birth	-	total population: 71.77 years male: 66.28 years female: 77.6 years (2005 est.)
Literacy	-	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99.8% male: 99.8% female: 99.8% (2003 est.)
Location	Southern Asia, archipelago in the Indian Ocean, about one-half the way from Africa to Indonesia	Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and Gulf of Finland, between Latvia and Russia
Map references	Political Map of the World	Europe
Maritime claims	exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 3 NM	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: limits fixed in coordination with neighboring states
Merchant marine	-	total: 43 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 212,998 GRT/177,488 DWT by type: cargo 17, passenger/cargo 20, petroleum tanker 2, roll on/roll off 4 foreign-owned: 6 (Norway 6) registered in other countries: 51 (2005)
Military - note	defense is the responsibility of the UK; the US lease on Diego Garcia expires in 2016	-
Military branches	-	Estonian Defense Forces: Ground Forces, Navy, Air Force and Air Defense Staff, Republic Security Forces (internal and border troops), Volunteer Defense League (Kaitseliit), Maritime Border Guard, Coast Guard note: Border Guards and Ministry of Internal Affairs become part of the Estonian Defense Forces in wartime; the Coast Guard is subordinate to the Ministry of Defense in peacetime and the Estonian Navy in wartime
Military expenditures - dollar figure	-	$155 million (2002 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	-	2% (2002 est.)
National holiday	-	Independence Day, 24 February (1918); note - 24 February 1918 is the date Estonia declared its independence from Soviet Russia; 20 August 1991 is the date it declared its independence from the Soviet Union
Nationality	-	noun: Estonian(s) adjective: Estonian
Natural hazards	NA	sometimes flooding occurs in the spring
Natural resources	coconuts, fish, sugarcane	oil shale, peat, phosphorite, clay, limestone, sand, dolomite, arable land, sea mud
Net migration rate	-	-3.18 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Pipelines	-	gas 859 km (2004)
Political parties and leaders	-	Center Party of Estonia (Keskerakond) [Edgar SAVISAAR, chairman]; Estonian People's Union (Rahvaliit) [Villu REILJAN, chairman]; Estonian Reform Party (Reformierakond) [Andrus ANSIP]; Estonian United Russian People's Party or EUVRP [Yevgeniy TOMBERG, chairman]; Pro Patria Union (Isamaaliit) [Tunne KELAM, chairman]; Res Publica [Juhan PARTS, chairman]; Social Democratic Party (formerly People's Party Moodukad or Moderates) [Ivari PADAR, chairman]; Social Liberals (group of 8 parliamentarians, former Center Party members) [Peeter Kreitzberg]
Political pressure groups and leaders	-	NA
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.)	1,332,893 (July 2005 est.)
Population below poverty line	-	NA (2000)
Population growth rate	-	-0.65% (2005 est.)
Ports and harbors	Diego Garcia	Kopli, Kuivastu, Muuga, Tallinn, Virtsu
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998)	AM 0, FM 98, shortwave 0 (2001)
Radios	NA	-
Railways	-	total: 958 km broad gauge: 958 km 1.520-m/1.524-m gauge (132 km electrified) (2004)
Religions	-	Evangelical Lutheran 13.6%, Orthodox 12.8%, other Christian (including Methodist, Seventh-Day Adventist, Roman Catholic, Pentecostal) 1.4%, unaffiliated 34.1%, other and unspecified 32%, none 6.1% (2000 census)
Sex ratio	-	at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.49 male(s)/female total population: 0.84 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
Suffrage	-	18 years of age; universal for all Estonian citizens
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: foreign investment in the form of joint business ventures greatly improved telephone service; substantial fiber-optic cable systems carry telephone, TV, and radio traffic in the digital mode; Internet services are available throughout most of the country - only about 11,000 subscriber requests were unfilled by September 2000 domestic: a wide range of high quality voice, data, and Internet services is available throughout the country international: country code - 372; fiber-optic cables to Finland, Sweden, Latvia, and Russia provide worldwide packet-switched service; two international switches are located in Tallinn (2001)
Telephones - main lines in use	NA	475,000 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular	-	881,000 (2002)
Television broadcast stations	1 (1997)	3 (2001)
Terrain	flat and low (most areas do not exceed four meters in elevation)	marshy, lowlands; flat in the north, hilly in the south
Total fertility rate	-	1.39 children born/woman (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate	-	9.6% (2004 est.)
Waterways	none	500 km (2003)

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