Compare British Indian Ocean Territory (2002) - Lebanon (2008)

Compare British Indian Ocean Territory (2002) z Lebanon (2008)

	British Indian Ocean Territory (2002)	Lebanon (2008)

Administrative divisions	-	8 governorates (mohafazat, singular - mohafazah); Aakar, Baalbek-Hermel, Beqaa, Beyrouth, Liban-Nord, Liban-Sud, Mont-Liban, Nabatiye
Age structure	-	0-14 years: 26.2% (male 525,199/female 504,240) 15-64 years: 66.7% (male 1,255,624/female 1,361,265) 65 years and over: 7.1% (male 125,904/female 153,270) (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products	-	citrus, grapes, tomatoes, apples, vegetables, potatoes, olives, tobacco; sheep, goats
Airports	1 (2001)	7 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2002)	total: 5 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways	-	total: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2007)
Area	total: 60 sq km land: 60 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes the entire Chagos Archipelago	total: 10,400 sq km land: 10,230 sq km water: 170 sq km
Area - comparative	about 0.3 times the size of Washington, DC	about 0.7 times the size of Connecticut
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.	Following the capture of Syria from the Ottoman Empire by Anglo-French forces in 1918, France received a mandate over this territory and separated out a region of Lebanon in 1920. France granted this area independence in 1943. A lengthy civil war (1975-1990) devastated the country, but Lebanon has since made progress toward rebuilding its political institutions. Under the Ta'if Accord - the blueprint for national reconciliation - the Lebanese established a more equitable political system, particularly by giving Muslims a greater voice in the political process while institutionalizing sectarian divisions in the government. Since the end of the war, Lebanon has conducted several successful elections, most militias have been disbanded, and the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) have extended authority over about two-thirds of the country. Hizballah, a radical Shi'a organization listed by the US State Department as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, retains its weapons. During Lebanon's civil war, the Arab League legitimized in the Ta'if Accord Syria's troop deployment, numbering about 16,000 based mainly east of Beirut and in the Bekaa Valley. Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon in May 2000 and the passage in October 2004 of UNSCR 1559 - a resolution calling for Syria to withdraw from Lebanon and end its interference in Lebanese affairs -encouraged some Lebanese groups to demand that Syria withdraw its forces as well. The assassination of former Prime Minister Rafiq HARIRI and 20 others in February 2005 led to massive demonstrations in Beirut against the Syrian presence ("the Cedar Revolution"), and Syria withdrew the remainder of its military forces in April 2005. In May-June 2005, Lebanon held its first legislative elections since the end of the civil war free of foreign interference, handing a majority to the bloc led by Saad HARIRI, the slain prime minister's son. Lebanon continues to be plagued by violence - Hizballah kidnapped two Israeli soldiers in July 2006 leading to a 34-day conflict with Israel. The LAF in May-September 2007 battled Sunni extremist group Fatah al-Islam in the Nahr al-Barid Palestinian refugee camp; and the country has witnessed a string of politically motivated assassinations since the death of Rafiq HARIRI. Lebanese politicians in November 2007 were unable to agree on a successor to Emile LAHUD when he stepped down as president, creating a political vacuum.
Birth rate	-	18.08 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget	-	revenues: $6.116 billion expenditures: $9.421 billion (2007 est.)
Capital	-	name: Beirut geographic coordinates: 33 52 N, 35 30 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
Climate	tropical marine; hot, humid, moderated by trade winds	Mediterranean; mild to cool, wet winters with hot, dry summers; Lebanon mountains experience heavy winter snows
Coastline	698 km	225 km
Constitution	-	23 May 1926; amended a number of times, most recently Charter of Lebanese National Reconciliation (Ta'if Accord) of October 1989
Country name	conventional long form: British Indian Ocean Territory conventional short form: none abbreviation: BIOT	conventional long form: Lebanese Republic conventional short form: Lebanon local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Lubnaniyah local short form: Lubnan former: Greater Lebanon
Death rate	-	6.1 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external	-	$34.67 billion (31 December 2007 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 Michele J. SISON embassy: Awkar, Lebanon; (Awkar facing the Municipality) mailing address: P. O. Box 70-840, Antelias, Lebanon; from US: US Embassy Beirut, 6070 Beirut Place, Washington, DC 20521-6070 telephone: [961] (4) 542600, 543600 FAX: [961] (4) 544136
Diplomatic representation in the US	none (overseas territory of the UK)	chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Antoine CHEDID chancery: 2560 28th Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 939-6300 FAX: [1] (202) 939-6324 consulate(s) general: Detroit, New York, Los Angeles
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	lacking a treaty or other documentation describing the boundary, portions of the Lebanon-Syria boundary are unclear with several sections in dispute; since 2000, Lebanon has claimed Shab'a Farms area in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights; the roughly 2,000-strong UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has been in place since 1978
Economic aid - recipient	-	Of the $7.6 billion in grants and loans pledged to Lebanon at the Paris III conference in January 2007, Beirut as of mid-December 2007 had signed agreements for $3 billion, including $1 billion in project financing, $750 million in direct budget support, $750 million in private sector credit, and $285 million in in-kind aid. About $500 million of the $1.7 billion pledged for direct budget support has been disbursed to Lebanon. Donors in August 2006 also pledged nearly $1.8 billion in aid to help Lebanon recover from the 2006 Israel-Hizballah war. During the conflict, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait provided $1.5 billion in concessional loans to the Lebanese central bank to maintain confidence in the Lebanese currency. (2005)
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.	The 1975-90 civil war seriously damaged Lebanon's economic infrastructure, cut national output by half, and all but ended Lebanon's position as a Middle Eastern entrepot and banking hub. In the years since, Lebanon has rebuilt much of its war-torn physical and financial infrastructure by borrowing heavily - mostly from domestic banks. In an attempt to reduce the ballooning national debt, the Rafiq HARIRI government began an austerity program, reining in government expenditures, increasing revenue collection, and privatizing state enterprises, but economic and financial reform initiatives stalled and public debt continued to grow despite receipt of more than $2 billion in bilateral assistance at the Paris II Donors Conference. The Israeli-Hizballah conflict in July-August 2006 caused an estimated $3.6 billion in infrastructure damage, and prompted international donors to pledge nearly $1 billion in recovery and reconstruction assistance. Donors met again in January 2007 and pledged over $7.5 billion to Lebanon for development projects and budget support, conditioned on progress on Beirut's fiscal reform and privatization program. Internal Lebanese political tension continues to hamper economic activity, particularly in the tourism and retail sectors.
Electricity - consumption	NA kWh	10.58 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports	-	0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports	-	455 million kWh (2005)
Electricity - production	NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by the US military	9.183 billion kWh (2005)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location on Diego Garcia 15 m	lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m highest point: Qurnat as Sawda' 3,088 m
Environment - current issues	NA	deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; air pollution in Beirut from vehicular traffic and the burning of industrial wastes; pollution of coastal waters from raw sewage and oil spills
Environment - international agreements	-	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Marine Life Conservation
Ethnic groups	-	Arab 95%, Armenian 4%, other 1% note: many Christian Lebanese do not identify themselves as Arab but rather as descendents of the ancient Canaanites and prefer to be called Phoenicians
Exchange rates	-	Lebanese pounds per US dollar - 1,507.5 (2007), 1,507.5 (2006), 1,507.5 (2005), 1,507.5 (2004), 1,507.5 (2003)
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: vacant (as of 24 November 2007); note - former President Emile LAHUD's term expired on 23 November 2007, and the Cabinet temporarily assumed presidential powers head of government: Prime Minister Fuad SINIORA (since 30 June 2005); Deputy Prime Minister Elias MURR (since April 2005) cabinet: Cabinet chosen by the prime minister in consultation with the president and members of the National Assembly elections: president elected by the National Assembly for a six-year term (may not serve consecutive terms); election last held 15 October 1998 (next election orginally scheduled for fall 2004 but was postponed beyond the constitutionally mandated 23 November deadline; under Syrian pressure, Parliament extended Lahoud's term for three years); the prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed by the president in consultation with the National Assembly; by agreement, the president is a Maronite Christian, the prime minister is a Sunni Muslim, and the speaker of the National Assembly is a Shi'a Muslim election results: for 15 October 1998 election: Emile LAHUD elected president; National Assembly vote - 118 votes in favor, 0 against, 10 abstentions
Exports	-	0 bbl/day (2004)
Exports - commodities	-	authentic jewelry, inorganic chemicals, miscellaneous consumer goods, fruit and vegetables, tobacco, construction minerals, electric power machinery and switchgear, textile fibers, paper
Exports - partners	-	Syria 26.8%, UAE 12%, Switzerland 6%, Saudi Arabia 5.7%, Turkey 4.5% (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	three horizontal bands consisting of red (top), white (middle, double width), and red (bottom) with a green cedar tree centered in the white band
GDP - composition by sector	-	agriculture: 5.2% industry: 18.4% services: 76.4% (2007 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	-	0.3% (2007 est.)
Geographic coordinates	6 00 S, 71 30 E	33 50 N, 35 50 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	Nahr el Litani is the only major river in Near East not crossing an international boundary; rugged terrain historically helped isolate, protect, and develop numerous factional groups based on religion, clan, and ethnicity
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%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
Illicit drugs	-	cannabis cultivation dramatically reduced to 2,500 hectares in 2002 despite continued significant cannabis consumption; opium poppy cultivation minimal; small amounts of Latin American cocaine and Southwest Asian heroin transit country on way to European markets and for Middle Eastern consumption; money laundering of drug proceeds fuels concern that extremists are benefiting from drug trafficking
Imports	-	102,300 bbl/day (2004)
Imports - commodities	-	petroleum products, cars, medicinal products, clothing, meat and live animals, consumer goods, paper, textile fabrics, tobacco, electrical machinery
Imports - partners	-	Syria 11.6%, Italy 9.8%, US 9.3%, France 7.7%, Germany 6.1%, China 5%, Saudi Arabia 4.7% (2006)
Independence	-	22 November 1943 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration)
Industrial production growth rate	-	NA%
Industries	-	banking, tourism, food processing, wine, jewelry, cement, textiles, mineral and chemical products, wood and furniture products, oil refining, metal fabricating
Infant mortality rate	-	total: 23.39 deaths/1,000 live births male: 25.94 deaths/1,000 live births female: 20.71 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	-	5.6% (2007 est.)
International organization participation	-	ABEDA, ACCT, AFESD, AMF, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC, OIF, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNRWA, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)	1 (2000)	-
Irrigated land	0 sq km (1998 est.)	1,040 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch	-	four Courts of Cassation (three courts for civil and commercial cases and one court for criminal cases); Constitutional Council (called for in Ta'if Accord - rules on constitutionality of laws); Supreme Council (hears charges against the president and prime minister as needed)
Labor force	-	1.5 million note: in addition, there are as many as 1 million foreign workers (2005 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	-	agriculture: NA% industry: NA% services: NA%
Land boundaries	0 km	total: 454 km border countries: Israel 79 km, Syria 375 km
Land use	arable land: NEGL permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (1998 est.)	arable land: 16.35% permanent crops: 13.75% other: 69.9% (2005)
Languages	-	Arabic (official), French, English, Armenian
Legal system	the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply	mixture of Ottoman law, canon law, Napoleonic code, and civil law; no judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch	-	unicameral National Assembly or Majlis Alnuwab (Arabic) or Assemblee Nationale (French) (128 seats; members elected by popular vote on the basis of sectarian proportional representation to serve four-year terms) elections: last held in four rounds on 29 May, 5, 12, 19 June 2005 (next to be held 2009) election results: percent of vote by group - NA; seats by group - Future Movement Bloc 36; Democratic Gathering 15; Development and Resistance Bloc 15; Free Patriotic Movement 15; Loyalty to the Resistance 14; Qornet Shewan 6; Lebanese Forces 5; Popular Bloc 4; Tripoli Independent Bloc 3; Kataeb Reform Movement 2; Syrian National Socialist Party 2; Tashnaq 2; Syrian Ba'th Party 1; Democratic Left 1; Democratic Renewal Movement 1; Kataeb Party 1; Nasserite Popular Movement 1; independent 4
Life expectancy at birth	-	total population: 73.15 years male: 70.67 years female: 75.77 years (2007 est.)
Literacy	-	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 87.4% male: 93.1% female: 82.2% (2003 est.)
Location	Southern Asia, archipelago in the Indian Ocean, about one-half the way from Africa to Indonesia	Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Israel and Syria
Map references	Political Map of the World	Middle East
Maritime claims	exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 3 NM	territorial sea: 12 nm
Merchant marine	-	total: 35 ships (1000 GRT or over) 132,871 GRT/140,011 DWT by type: bulk carrier 3, cargo 14, livestock carrier 12, passenger/cargo 1, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 2, vehicle carrier 2 foreign-owned: 3 (Greece 2, Syria 1) registered in other countries: 55 (Antigua and Barbuda 1, Barbados 1, Cambodia 7, Comoros 5, Cyprus 1, Dominica 1, Egypt 1, Georgia 3, Honduras 2, Hong Kong 1, North Korea 3, Liberia 2, Malta 12, Mongolia 1, Panama 3, St Vincent and The Grenadines 7, Syria 4, unknown 2) (2007)
Military - note	defense is the responsibility of the UK; the US lease on Diego Garcia expires in 2016	-
Military branches	-	Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF): Army, Navy, and Air Force (2007)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	-	3.1% (2005 est.)
National holiday	-	Independence Day, 22 November (1943)
Nationality	-	noun: Lebanese (singular and plural) adjective: Lebanese
Natural hazards	NA	dust storms, sandstorms
Natural resources	coconuts, fish, sugarcane	limestone, iron ore, salt, water-surplus state in a water-deficit region, arable land
Net migration rate	-	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Pipelines	-	gas 43 km (2007)
Political parties and leaders	-	14 March Coalition: Democratic Gathering Bloc [Walid JUNBLATT, leader of Progressive Socialist Party]; Democratic Left [Ilyas ATALLAH]; Democratic Renewal Movement [Nassib LAHUD]; Future Movement Bloc [Sa'ad HARIRI]; Kataeb Party [Amine GEMAYEL]; Lebanese Forces [Samir JA'JA]; Tripoli Independent Bloc Change and Reform Alliance Bloc: Free Patriotic Movement [Michel AWN]; Metn Bloc [Michel MURR]; Popular Bloc [Elias SKAFF]; Tashnaq Hizballah and Amal Alliance: Development and Resistance Bloc [Nabih BERRI, leader of Amal Movement]; Hizballah Party [Hassan NASRALLAH]; Loyalty to the Resistance [Mohammad RA'AD]; Nasserite Popular Movement [Ussama SAAD]; Syrian Ba'th Party [Sayez SHUKR]; Syrian Social Nationalist Party [Ali QANSO]
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 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.)	3,925,502 (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line	-	28% (1999 est.)
Population growth rate	-	1.198% (2007 est.)
Ports and harbors	Diego Garcia	-
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998)	AM 20, FM 22, shortwave 4 (1998)
Radios	NA	-
Railways	-	total: 401 km standard gauge: 319 km 1.435 m narrow gauge: 82 km 1.050 m note: rail system became unusable because of damage done during fighting in the 1980s and in 2006 (2006)
Religions	-	Muslim 59.7% (Shi'a, Sunni, Druze, Isma'ilite, Alawite or Nusayri), Christian 39% (Maronite Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Melkite Catholic, Armenian Orthodox, Syrian Catholic, Armenian Catholic, Syrian Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Chaldean, Assyrian, Copt, Protestant), other 1.3% note: 17 religious sects recognized
Sex ratio	-	at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.042 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.922 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.821 male(s)/female total population: 0.944 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
Suffrage	-	21 years of age; compulsory for all males; authorized for women at age 21 with elementary education
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: repair of the telecommunications system, severely damaged during the civil war, now complete domestic: two wireless networks provide good service; political instability hampers privatization and deployment of new technologies; combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular subscribership approaching 50 per 100 persons international: country code - 961; submarine cable link to Cyprus; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean); coaxial cable to Syria
Telephones - main lines in use	NA	681,400 (2006)
Telephones - mobile cellular	-	1.103 million (2006)
Television broadcast stations	1 (1997)	15 (plus 5 repeaters) (1995)
Terrain	flat and low (most areas do not exceed four meters in elevation)	narrow coastal plain; El Beqaa (Bekaa Valley) separates Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon Mountains
Total fertility rate	-	1.88 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate	-	20% (2006 est.)
Waterways	none	-

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