Compare British Indian Ocean Territory (2002) - Nepal (2003)

Compare British Indian Ocean Territory (2002) z Nepal (2003)

	British Indian Ocean Territory (2002)	Nepal (2003)

Administrative divisions	-	14 zones (anchal, singular and plural); Bagmati, Bheri, Dhawalagiri, Gandaki, Janakpur, Karnali, Kosi, Lumbini, Mahakali, Mechi, Narayani, Rapti, Sagarmatha, Seti
Age structure	-	0-14 years: 39.7% (male 5,424,396; female 5,080,171) 15-64 years: 56.7% (male 7,692,134; female 7,320,059) 65 years and over: 3.6% (male 468,697; female 484,112) (2003 est.)
Agriculture - products	-	rice, corn, wheat, sugarcane, root crops; milk, water buffalo meat
Airports	1 (2001)	45 (2002)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2002)	total: 9 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 7 (2002)
Airports - with unpaved runways	-	total: 36 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 28 (2002)
Area	total: 60 sq km land: 60 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes the entire Chagos Archipelago	total: 140,800 sq km land: 136,800 sq km water: 4,000 sq km
Area - comparative	about 0.3 times the size of Washington, DC	slightly larger than Arkansas
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.	In 1951, the Nepalese monarch ended the century-old system of rule by hereditary premiers and instituted a cabinet system of government. Reforms in 1990 established a multiparty democracy within the framework of a constitutional monarchy. A Maoist insurgency, launched in 1996, has gained traction and is threatening to bring down the regime. In 2001, the Crown Prince massacred ten members of the royal family, including the king and queen, and then took his own life. In October 2002, the new king dismissed the prime minister and his cabinet for "incompetence" after they dissolved the parliament and were subsequently unable to hold elections because of the ongoing insurgency. The country is now governed by the king and his appointed cabinet, which has negotiated a cease-fire with the Maoist insurgents, until elections can be held at some unspecified future date.
Birth rate	-	32.46 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Budget	-	revenues: $665 million expenditures: $1.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY 99/00 est.)
Capital	-	Kathmandu
Climate	tropical marine; hot, humid, moderated by trade winds	varies from cool summers and severe winters in north to subtropical summers and mild winters in south
Coastline	698 km	0 km (landlocked)
Constitution	-	9 November 1990
Country name	conventional long form: British Indian Ocean Territory conventional short form: none abbreviation: BIOT	conventional long form: Kingdom of Nepal conventional short form: Nepal
Currency	-	Nepalese rupee (NPR)
Death rate	-	9.84 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Debt - external	-	$2.55 billion (FY 00/01)
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 Michael E. MALINOWSKI embassy: Panipokhari, Kathmandu mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [977] (1) 411179 FAX: [977] (1) 419963
Diplomatic representation in the US	none (overseas territory of the UK)	chief of mission: Ambassador-designate Jai Pratap RANA chancery: 2131 Leroy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 667-4550 FAX: [1] (202) 667-5534 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	joint border commission continues to work on small disputed sections of boundary with India; India has instituted a stricter border regime to restrict transit of Maoist insurgents
Economic aid - recipient	-	$424 million (FY 00/01)
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.	Nepal is among the poorest and least developed countries in the world with 42% of its population living below the poverty line. Agriculture is the mainstay of the economy, providing a livelihood for over 80% of the population and accounting for 40% of GDP. Industrial activity mainly involves the processing of agricultural produce including jute, sugarcane, tobacco, and grain. Textile and carpet production, accounting for about 80% of foreign exchange earnings in recent years, contracted in 2001-02 due to the overall slowdown in the world economy and pressures by Maoist insurgents on factory owners and workers. Security concerns in the wake of the Maoist conflict and the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the US have led to a decrease in tourism, another key source of foreign exchange. Since 1991, the government has been moving forward with economic reforms, e.g., by reducing business licenses and registration requirements to simplify investment procedures, reducing subsidies, privatizing state industries, and laying off civil servants. Nepal has considerable scope for exploiting its potential in hydropower and tourism, areas of recent foreign investment interest. Prospects for foreign trade or investment in other sectors will remain poor, however, because of the small size of the economy, its technological backwardness, its remoteness, its landlocked geographic location, and its susceptibility to natural disaster. The international community's role of funding more than 60% of Nepal's development budget and more than 28% of total budgetary expenditures will likely continue as a major ingredient of growth.
Electricity - consumption	NA kWh	1.764 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports	-	95 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports	-	227 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - production	NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by the US military	1.755 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source	-	fossil fuel: 8.5% hydro: 91.5% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location on Diego Garcia 15 m	lowest point: Kanchan Kalan 70 m highest point: Mount Everest 8,850 m (1999)
Environment - current issues	NA	deforestation (overuse of wood for fuel and lack of alternatives); contaminated water (with human and animal wastes, agricultural runoff, and industrial effluents); wildlife conservation; vehicular emissions
Environment - international agreements	-	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation
Ethnic groups	-	Brahman, Chetri, Newar, Gurung, Magar, Tamang, Rai, Limbu, Sherpa, Tharu, and others (1995)
Exchange rates	-	Nepalese rupees per US dollar - 77.88 (2002), 74.95 (2001), 71.09 (2000), 68.24 (1999), 65.98 (1998)
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: King GYANENDRA Bir Bikram Shah (succeeded to the throne 4 June 2001 following the death of his nephew, King DIPENDRA Bir Bikram Shah) head of government: Prime Minister Surya Bahadur THAPA (since 4 June 2003); note - Prime Minister CHAND resigned 30 May 2003 cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the monarch note: King BIRENDRA Bir Bikram Shah Dev died in a bloody shooting at the royal palace on 1 June 2001 that also claimed the lives of most of the royal family; King BIRENDRA's son, Crown Price DIPENDRA, is believed to have been responsible for the shootings before fatally wounding himself; immediately following the shootings and while still clinging to life, DIPENDRA was crowned king; he died three days later and was succeeded by his uncle
Exports	-	NA (2001)
Exports - commodities	-	carpets, clothing, leather goods, jute goods, grain
Exports - partners	-	India 47.5%, US 27.6%, Germany 7.5% (2002)
Fiscal year	-	16 July - 15 July
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 border around the unique shape of two overlapping right triangles; the smaller, upper triangle bears a white stylized moon and the larger, lower triangle bears a white 12-pointed sun
GDP	-	purchasing power parity - $37.32 billion (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector	-	agriculture: 40% industry: 20% services: 40% (2002 est.)
GDP - per capita	-	purchasing power parity - $1,400 (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	-	-0.6% (2002 est.)
Geographic coordinates	6 00 S, 71 30 E	28 00 N, 84 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	landlocked; strategic location between China and India; contains eight of world's 10 highest peaks, including Mount Everest - the world's tallest - on the border with China
Highways	total: NA km paved: short stretch of paved road of NA km between port and airfield on Diego Garcia unpaved: NA km	total: 13,223 km paved: 4,073 km unpaved: 9,150 km (1999 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	-	lowest 10%: 3.2% highest 10%: 29.8% (1995-96)
Illicit drugs	-	illicit producer of cannabis for the domestic and international drug markets; transit point for opiates from Southeast Asia to the West
Imports	-	NA (2001)
Imports - commodities	-	gold, machinery and equipment, petroleum products, fertilizer
Imports - partners	-	India 21.2%, China 13%, UAE 11.1%, Singapore 8.5%, Hong Kong 5.9%, Saudi Arabia 4.9%, Kuwait 4.1% (2002)
Independence	-	1768 (unified by Prithvi Narayan Shah)
Industrial production growth rate	-	8.7% (FY 99/00)
Industries	-	tourism, carpet, textile; small rice, jute, sugar, and oilseed mills; cigarette; cement and brick production
Infant mortality rate	-	total: 70.57 deaths/1,000 live births male: 68.95 deaths/1,000 live births female: 72.27 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	-	2.8% (2001 est.)
International organization participation	-	AsDB, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO (correspondent), ITU, MONUC, NAM, OPCW, SAARC, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMISET, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)	1 (2000)	6 (2000)
Irrigated land	0 sq km (1998 est.)	11,350 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch	-	Supreme Court or Sarbochha Adalat (chief justice is appointed by the monarch on recommendation of the Constitutional Council; the other judges are appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the Judicial Council)
Labor force	-	10 million note: severe lack of skilled labor (1996 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	-	agriculture 81%, services 16%, industry 3%
Land boundaries	0 km	total: 2,926 km border countries: China 1,236 km, India 1,690 km
Land use	arable land: NEGL permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (1998 est.)	arable land: 20.27% permanent crops: 0.49% other: 79.24% (1998 est.)
Languages	-	Nepali (official; spoken by 90% of the population), about a dozen other languages and about 30 major dialects; note - many in government and business also speak English (1995)
Legal system	the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply	based on Hindu legal concepts and English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch	-	bicameral Parliament consists of the National Council (60 seats; 35 appointed by the House of Representatives, 10 by the king, and 15 elected by an electoral college; one-third of the members elected every two years to serve six-year terms) and the House of Representatives (205 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: House of Representatives - last held 3 and 17 May 1999 (next election NA) note: Nepal's Parliament was dissolved on 22 May 2002 election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NC 37.3%, CPN/UML 31.6%, NDP 10.4%, NSP 3.2%, Rastriya Jana Morcha 1.4%, Samyukta Janmorcha Nepal 0.8%, NWPP 0.5%, others 14.8%; seats by party - NC 113, CPN/UML 69, NDP 11, NSP 5, Rastriya Jana Morcha 5, Samyukta Janmorcha Nepal 1, NWPP 1
Life expectancy at birth	-	total population: 59 years male: 59.36 years female: 58.63 years (2003 est.)
Literacy	-	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 45.2% male: 62.7% female: 27.6% (2003 est.)
Location	Southern Asia, archipelago in the Indian Ocean, about one-half the way from Africa to Indonesia	Southern Asia, between China and India
Map references	Political Map of the World	Asia
Maritime claims	exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 3 NM	none (landlocked)
Military - note	defense is the responsibility of the UK; the US lease on Diego Garcia expires in 2016	-
Military branches	-	Royal Nepalese Army (includes Royal Nepalese Army Air Service), Nepalese Police Force
Military expenditures - dollar figure	-	$57.22 million (FY02)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	-	1.1% (FY02)
Military manpower - availability	-	males age 15-49: 6,674,014 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service	-	males age 15-49: 3,467,511 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - military age	-	17 years of age (2003 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually	-	males: 303,222 (2003 est.)
National holiday	-	Birthday of King GYANENDRA, 7 July (1946)
Nationality	-	noun: Nepalese (singular and plural) adjective: Nepalese
Natural hazards	NA	severe thunderstorms, flooding, landslides, drought, and famine depending on the timing, intensity, and duration of the summer monsoons
Natural resources	coconuts, fish, sugarcane	quartz, water, timber, hydropower, scenic beauty, small deposits of lignite, copper, cobalt, iron ore
Net migration rate	-	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Political parties and leaders	-	Communist Party of Nepal/United Marxist-Leninist or CPN/UML [Madhav Kumar NEPAL, general secretary]; National Democratic Party or NDP (also called Rastriya Prajantra Party or RPP) [Surya Bahadur THAPA, chairman]; National People's Front (Rastriya Jana Morcha) [Chitra Bahadur, chairman]; Nepal Sadbhavana (Goodwill) Party or NSP [Bhadri Prasad MANDAL, acting party president]; Nepal Workers and Peasants Party or NWPP [Narayan Man BIJUKCHHE, party chairman]; Nepali Congress or NC [Girija Prasad KOIRALA, party president; Sushil KOIRALA, general secretary]; Samyukta Janmorcha Nepal [Lila Mani POKHAREL, general secretary]
Political pressure groups and leaders	-	Maoist guerrilla-based insurgency [Pushpa Kamal DAHAL also known as Prahanda, chairman; and chief negotiator, Dr. Baburam BHATTARAI, from Communist Party of Nepal/Maoist]; numerous small, left-leaning student groups in the capital; several small, radical Nepalese antimonarchist groups
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.)	26,469,569 (July 2003 est.)
Population below poverty line	-	42% (1995-96)
Population growth rate	-	2.26% (2003 est.)
Ports and harbors	Diego Garcia	none
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998)	AM 6, FM 5, shortwave 1 (January 2000)
Radios	NA	-
Railways	-	total: 59 km narrow gauge: 59 km 0.762-m gauge (2002)
Religions	-	Hinduism 86.2%, Buddhism 7.8%, Islam 3.8%, other 2.2% note: only official Hindu state in the world (1995)
Sex ratio	-	at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.97 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2003 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: poor telephone and telegraph service; fair radiotelephone communication service and mobile cellular telephone network domestic: NA international: radiotelephone communications; microwave landline to India; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean)
Telephones - main lines in use	NA	236,816 (January 2000)
Telephones - mobile cellular	-	NA
Television broadcast stations	1 (1997)	1 (plus 9 repeaters) (1998)
Terrain	flat and low (most areas do not exceed four meters in elevation)	Terai or flat river plain of the Ganges in south, central hill region, rugged Himalayas in north
Total fertility rate	-	4.39 children born/woman (2003 est.)
Unemployment rate	-	47% (2001 est.)
Waterways	none	none

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