Compare British Indian Ocean Territory (2002) - Georgia (2007)

Compare British Indian Ocean Territory (2002) z Georgia (2007)

	British Indian Ocean Territory (2002)	Georgia (2007)

Administrative divisions	-	9 regions (mkharebi, singular - mkhare), 1 city (k'alak'i), and 2 autonomous republics (avtomnoy respubliki, singular - avtom respublika) regions: Guria, Imereti, Kakheti, Kvemo Kartli, Mtskheta-Mtianeti, Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti, Samegrelo and Zemo Svaneti, Samtskhe-Javakheti, Shida Kartli city: Tbilisi autonomous republics: Abkhazia or Ap'khazet'is Avtonomiuri Respublika (Sokhumi), Ajaria or Acharis Avtonomiuri Respublika (Bat'umi) note: the administrative centers of the two autonomous republics are shown in parentheses
Age structure	-	0-14 years: 16.7% (male 413,506/female 364,407) 15-64 years: 66.6% (male 1,489,081/female 1,605,021) 65 years and over: 16.7% (male 311,098/female 462,890) (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products	-	citrus, grapes, tea, hazelnuts, vegetables; livestock
Airports	1 (2001)	23 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2002)	total: 19 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 2 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways	-	total: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2007)
Area	total: 60 sq km land: 60 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes the entire Chagos Archipelago	total: 69,700 sq km land: 69,700 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative	about 0.3 times the size of Washington, DC	slightly smaller than South Carolina
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.	The region of present-day Georgia contained the ancient kingdoms of Colchis and Kartli-Iberia. The area came under Roman influence in the first centuries A.D. and Christianity became the state religion in the 330s. Domination by Persians, Arabs, and Turks was followed by a Georgian golden age (11th-13th centuries) that was cut short by the Mongol invasion of 1236. Subsequently, the Ottoman and Persian empires competed for influence in the region. Georgia was absorbed into the Russian Empire in the 19th century. Independent for three years (1918-1921) following the Russian revolution, it was forcibly incorporated into the USSR until the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991. An attempt by the incumbent Georgian government to manipulate national legislative elections in November 2003 touched off widespread protests that led to the resignation of Eduard SHEVARDNADZE, president since 1995. New elections in early 2004 swept Mikheil SAAKASHVILI into power along with his National Movement party. Progress on market reforms and democratization has been made in the years since independence, but this progress has been complicated by two civil conflicts in the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. These two territories remain outside the control of the central government and are ruled by de facto, unrecognized governments, supported by Russia. Russian-led peacekeeping operations continue in both regions. The Georgian Government put forward a new peace initiative for the peaceful resolution of the status of South Ossetia in 2005.
Birth rate	-	10.54 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget	-	revenues: $2.331 billion expenditures: $2.507 billion (2006 est.)
Capital	-	name: T'bilisi geographic coordinates: 41 43 N, 44 47 E time difference: UTC+4 (9 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Climate	tropical marine; hot, humid, moderated by trade winds	warm and pleasant; Mediterranean-like on Black Sea coast
Coastline	698 km	310 km
Constitution	-	adopted 24 August 1995
Country name	conventional long form: British Indian Ocean Territory conventional short form: none abbreviation: BIOT	conventional long form: none conventional short form: Georgia local long form: none local short form: Sak'art'velo former: Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic
Death rate	-	9.37 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external	-	$2.04 billion (2004)
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 John F. TEFFT embassy: 11 George Balanchine Street, T'bilisi 0131 mailing address: 7060 T'bilisi Place, Washington, DC 20521-7060 telephone: [995] (32) 27-70-00 FAX: [995] (32) 53-23-10
Diplomatic representation in the US	none (overseas territory of the UK)	chief of mission: Ambassador Vasil SIKHARULIDZE chancery: 1101 15th Street NW, Suite 602, Washington, DC 20005 telephone: [1] (202) 387-2390 FAX: [1] (202) 393-4537
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	Russia and Georgia agree on delimiting 80% of their common border, leaving certain small, strategic segments and the maritime boundary unresolved; OSCE observers monitor volatile areas such as the Pankisi Gorge in the Akhmeti region and the Argun Gorge in Abkhazia; UN Observer Mission in Georgia has maintained a peacekeeping force in Georgia since 1993; Meshkheti Turks scattered throughout the former Soviet Union seek to return to Georgia; boundary with Armenia remains undemarcated; ethnic Armenian groups in Javakheti region of Georgia seek greater autonomy from the Georgian government; Azerbaijan and Georgia continue to discuss the alignment of their boundary at certain crossing areas
Economic aid - recipient	-	ODA, $309.8 million (2005 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.	Georgia's main economic activities include the cultivation of agricultural products such as grapes, citrus fruits, and hazelnuts; mining of manganese and copper; and output of a small industrial sector producing alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages, metals, machinery, and chemicals. The country imports the bulk of its energy needs, including natural gas and oil products. It has sizeable but underdeveloped hydropower capacity. Despite the severe damage the economy has suffered due to civil strife, Georgia, with the help of the IMF and World Bank, has made substantial economic gains since 2000, achieving positive GDP growth and curtailing inflation. Georgia had suffered from a chronic failure to collect tax revenues; however, the new government is making progress and has reformed the tax code, improved tax administration, increased tax enforcement, and cracked down on corruption. Due to concerted reform efforts, collection rates have improved considerably to roughly 60%, both in T'bilisi and throughout the regions. In addition, the reinvigorated privatization process has met with success, supplementing government expenditures on infrastructure, defense, and poverty reduction. Despite customs and financial (tax) enforcement improvements, smuggling remains a drain on the economy. Georgia also suffers from energy shortages due to aging and badly maintained infrastructure, as well as poor management. Continued reform in the management of state-owned power entities is essential to successful privatization and onward sustainability in this sector. The country is pinning its hopes for long-term growth on its role as a transit state for pipelines and trade. The construction on the Baku-T'bilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline and the Baku-T'bilisi-Erzerum gas pipeline have brought much-needed investment and job opportunities. Nevertheless, high energy prices have compounded the pressure on the country's inefficient energy sector. Restructuring the sector and finding energy supply alternatives to Russia remain major challenges.
Electricity - consumption	NA kWh	7.354 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports	-	122 million kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports	-	1.468 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - production	NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by the US military	7.142 billion kWh (2005)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location on Diego Garcia 15 m	lowest point: Black Sea 0 m highest point: Mt'a Shkhara 5,201 m
Environment - current issues	NA	air pollution, particularly in Rust'avi; heavy pollution of Mtkvari River and the Black Sea; inadequate supplies of potable water; soil pollution from toxic chemicals
Environment - international agreements	-	party to: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Ethnic groups	-	Georgian 83.8%, Azeri 6.5%, Armenian 5.7%, Russian 1.5%, other 2.5% (2002 census)
Exchange rates	-	lari per US dollar - 1.78 (2006), 1.8127 (2005), 1.9167 (2004), 2.1457 (2003), 2.1957 (2002)
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: Acting President Nino BURJANADZE (since 25 November 2007); note - Mikheil SAAKASHVILI, who had been president since 25 January 2004, resigned the presidency on 25 November 2007 in order to become a candidate in early presidential elections to be held 5 January 2008; the president is both the chief of state and head of government for the power ministries: state security (includes interior) and defense head of government: Acting President Nino BURJANADZE (since 25 November 2007); Prime Minister Lado GURGENIDZE (since 19 November 2007); note - Mikheil SAAKASHVILI, who had been president since 25 January 2004, resigned the presidency on 25 November 2007 in order to become a candidate in early presidential elections to be held 5 January 2008; the president is both the chief of state and head of government for the power ministries: state security (includes interior) and defense cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 4 January 2004 (next to be held 5 January 2008) election results: Mikheil SAAKASHVILI elected president; percent of vote - Mikheil SAAKASHVILI 96.3%, Temur SHASHIASHVILI 1.9%
Exports	-	NA bbl/day
Exports - commodities	-	scrap metal, machinery, chemicals; fuel reexports; citrus fruits, tea, wine
Exports - partners	-	Turkey 12.7%, Azerbaijan 9.4%, Russia 7.7%, Armenia 7.5%, Turkmenistan 7.3%, Bulgaria 6.4%, US 6%, Ukraine 5.8%, Canada 5%, Germany 4.6% (2006)
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	white rectangle, in its central portion a red cross connecting all four sides of the flag; in each of the four corners is a small red bolnur-katskhuri cross; the five-cross flag appears to date back to the 14th century
GDP - composition by sector	-	agriculture: 15% industry: 28.3% services: 56.7% (2006 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	-	9.4% (2006 est.)
Geographic coordinates	6 00 S, 71 30 E	42 00 N, 43 30 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	strategically located east of the Black Sea; Georgia controls much of the Caucasus Mountains and the routes through them
Heliports	-	3 (2007)
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% highest 10%: 30.3% (2003)
Illicit drugs	-	limited cultivation of cannabis and opium poppy, mostly for domestic consumption; used as transshipment point for opiates via Central Asia to Western Europe and Russia
Imports	-	NA bbl/day
Imports - commodities	-	fuels, machinery and parts, transport equipment, grain and other foods, pharmaceuticals
Imports - partners	-	Russia 15.2%, Turkey 14.2%, Germany 9.5%, Ukraine 8.7%, Azerbaijan 8.7% (2006)
Independence	-	9 April 1991 (from Soviet Union)
Industrial production growth rate	-	3% (2000)
Industries	-	steel, aircraft, machine tools, electrical appliances, mining (manganese and copper), chemicals, wood products, wine
Infant mortality rate	-	total: 17.36 deaths/1,000 live births male: 19.42 deaths/1,000 live births female: 15.01 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	-	9.2% (2006 est.)
International organization participation	-	ACCT (observer), BSEC, CE, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, FAO, GCTU, GUAM, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, OAS (observer), OIF (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PFP, SECI (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)	1 (2000)	-
Irrigated land	0 sq km (1998 est.)	4,690 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch	-	Supreme Court (judges elected by the Supreme Council on the president's or chairman of the Supreme Court's recommendation); Constitutional Court; first and second instance courts
Labor force	-	2.04 million (2004 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	-	agriculture: 40% industry: 20% services: 40% (1999 est.)
Land boundaries	0 km	total: 1,461 km border countries: Armenia 164 km, Azerbaijan 322 km, Russia 723 km, Turkey 252 km
Land use	arable land: NEGL permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (1998 est.)	arable land: 11.51% permanent crops: 3.79% other: 84.7% (2005)
Languages	-	Georgian 71% (official), Russian 9%, Armenian 7%, Azeri 6%, other 7% note: Abkhaz is the official language in Abkhazia
Legal system	the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply	based on civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch	-	unicameral Supreme Council (commonly referred to as Parliament) or Umaghlesi Sabcho (235 seats; 150 members elected by proportional representation, 75 from single-seat constituencies, and 10 represent displaced persons from Abkhazia; to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 28 March 2004 (next to be held in spring 2008) election results: percent of vote by party - National Movement-Democratic Front 67.6%, Rightist Opposition 7.6%, other parties 24.8%; seats by party - National Movement-Democratic Front 135, Rightist Opposition 15
Life expectancy at birth	-	total population: 76.3 years male: 73 years female: 80.07 years (2007 est.)
Literacy	-	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 100% male: 100% female: 100% (2004 est.)
Location	Southern Asia, archipelago in the Indian Ocean, about one-half the way from Africa to Indonesia	Southwestern Asia, bordering the Black Sea, between Turkey and Russia
Map references	Political Map of the World	Asia
Maritime claims	exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 3 NM	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Merchant marine	-	total: 209 ships (1000 GRT or over) 958,504 GRT/1,408,540 DWT by type: bulk carrier 25, cargo 159, carrier 2, chemical tanker 1, container 5, liquefied gas 2, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 4, refrigerated cargo 4, roll on/roll off 3, vehicle carrier 1 foreign-owned: 180 (Albania 2, Azerbaijan 1, China 4, Cyprus 1, Egypt 14, Germany 2, Greece 7, Lebanon 3, Monaco 10, Romania 15, Russia 17, Slovenia 2, Syria 54, Turkey 23, Ukraine 24, UAE 1) (2007)
Military - note	defense is the responsibility of the UK; the US lease on Diego Garcia expires in 2016	a CIS peacekeeping force of Russian troops is deployed in the Abkhazia region of Georgia together with a UN military observer group; a Russian peacekeeping battalion is deployed in South Ossetia
Military branches	-	Georgian Armed Forces: Land Forces (includes National Guard), Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces (2006)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	-	0.59% (2005 est.)
National holiday	-	Independence Day, 26 May (1918); note - 26 May 1918 was the date of independence from Soviet Russia, 9 April 1991 was the date of independence from the Soviet Union
Nationality	-	noun: Georgian(s) adjective: Georgian
Natural hazards	NA	earthquakes
Natural resources	coconuts, fish, sugarcane	forests, hydropower, manganese deposits, iron ore, copper, minor coal and oil deposits; coastal climate and soils allow for important tea and citrus growth
Net migration rate	-	-4.45 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Pipelines	-	gas 1,349 km; oil 1,010 km (2006)
Political parties and leaders	-	Burjanadze-Democrats [Nino BURJANADZE]; Georgian People's Front [Nodar NATADZE]; Georgian United Communist Party or UCPG [Panteleimon GIORGADZE]; Georgia's Way Party [Salome ZOURABICHVILI]; Greens [Giorgi GACHECHILADZE]; Industry Will Save Georgia (Industrialists) or IWSG [Georgi TOPADZE]; Labor Party [Shalva NATELASHVILI]; National Democratic Party or NDP [Bachuki KARDAVA]; National Movement Democratic Front [Mikheil SAAKASHVILI] (bloc composed of National Movement and Burjanadze-Democrats); National Movement [Mikheil SAAKASHVILI]; New Rights [David GAMKRELIDZE]; Republican Party [David USUPASHVILI]; Rightist Opposition [David GAMKRELIDZE] (bloc composed of Industrialists and New Right Party); Socialist Party or SPG [Irakli MINDELI]; Traditionalists [Akaki ASATIANI]; Union of National Forces-Conservatives [Koba DAVITASHVILI and Zviad DZIDZIGURI]
Political pressure groups and leaders	-	Georgian independent deputies from Abkhaz government in exile; separatists in the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia
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.)	4,646,003 (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line	-	54.5% (2003)
Population growth rate	-	-0.329% (2007 est.)
Ports and harbors	Diego Garcia	-
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998)	AM 7, FM 12, shortwave 4 (1998)
Radios	NA	-
Railways	-	total: 1,612 km broad gauge: 1,575 km 1.520-m gauge (1,575 electrified) narrow gauge: 37 km 0.912-m gauge (37 electrified) (2006)
Religions	-	Orthodox Christian 83.9%, Muslim 9.9%, Armenian-Gregorian 3.9%, Catholic 0.8%, other 0.8%, none 0.7% (2002 census)
Sex ratio	-	at birth: 1.14 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.135 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.928 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.672 male(s)/female total population: 0.91 male(s)/female (2007 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: fixed-line telecommunications network has only limited coverage outside Tbilisi; multiple mobile-cellular providers provide services to an increasing subscribership domestic: local - T'bilisi, K'ut'aisi, and Batumi have cellular telephone networks; urban telephone density is about 20 per 100 people; rural telephone density is about 4 per 100 people; intercity facilities include a fiber-optic line between T'bilisi and K'ut'aisi; nationwide pager service is available international: country code - 995; the Georgia-Russia fiber optic submarine cable provides connectivity to Russia; international service is available by microwave, landline, and satellite through the Moscow switch; international electronic mail and telex service are available
Telephones - main lines in use	NA	553,100 (2006)
Telephones - mobile cellular	-	1.704 million (2006)
Television broadcast stations	1 (1997)	12 (plus repeaters) (1998)
Terrain	flat and low (most areas do not exceed four meters in elevation)	largely mountainous with Great Caucasus Mountains in the north and Lesser Caucasus Mountains in the south; Kolkhet'is Dablobi (Kolkhida Lowland) opens to the Black Sea in the west; Mtkvari River Basin in the east; good soils in river valley flood plains, foothills of Kolkhida Lowland
Total fertility rate	-	1.42 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Transportation - note	-	transportation network is in poor condition resulting from ethnic conflict, criminal activities, and fuel shortages; network lacks maintenance and repair
Unemployment rate	-	12.6% (2004 est.)
Waterways	none	-

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