British Indian Ocean Territory (2002) | Northern Mariana Islands (2004) | |
Administrative divisions | - | none (commonwealth in political union with the US); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are four municipalities at the second order; Northern Islands, Rota, Saipan, Tinian |
Age structure | - | 0-14 years: 20.3% (male 8,286; female 7,625)
15-64 years: 78.1% (male 25,579; female 35,534) 65 years and over: 1.6% (male 603; female 625) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | - | coconuts, fruits, vegetables; cattle |
Airports | 1 (2001) | 6 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 60 sq km
land: 60 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes the entire Chagos Archipelago |
total: 477 sq km
land: 477 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes 14 islands including Saipan, Rota, and Tinian |
Area - comparative | about 0.3 times the size of Washington, DC | 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC |
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. | Under US administration as part of the UN Trust Territory of the Pacific, the people of the Northern Mariana Islands decided in the 1970s not to seek independence but instead to forge closer links with the US. Negotiations for territorial status began in 1972. A covenant to establish a commonwealth in political union with the US was approved in 1975. A new government and constitution went into effect in 1978. |
Birth rate | - | 19.77 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | - | revenues: $193 million
expenditures: $223 million, including capital expenditures of NA (FY01/02 est.) |
Capital | - | Saipan |
Climate | tropical marine; hot, humid, moderated by trade winds | tropical marine; moderated by northeast trade winds, little seasonal temperature variation; dry season December to June, rainy season July to October |
Coastline | 698 km | 1,482 km |
Constitution | - | Covenant Agreement effective 4 November 1986 and the Constitution of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands effective 1 January 1978 |
Country name | conventional long form: British Indian Ocean Territory
conventional short form: none abbreviation: BIOT |
conventional long form: Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
conventional short form: Northern Mariana Islands former: Mariana Islands District (Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands) |
Currency | - | US dollar (USD) |
Death rate | - | 2.3 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | - | NA |
Dependency status | overseas territory of the UK; administered by a commissioner, resident in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London | commonwealth in political union with the US; federal funds to the Commonwealth administered by the US Department of the Interior, Office of Insular Affairs |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | - |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | - |
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 | none |
Economic aid - recipient | - | extensive funding from US |
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 economy benefits substantially from financial assistance from the US. The rate of funding has declined as locally generated government revenues have grown. The key tourist industry employs about 50% of the work force and accounts for roughly one-fourth of GDP. Japanese tourists predominate. Annual tourist entries have exceeded one-half million in recent years, but financial difficulties in Japan have caused a temporary slowdown. The agricultural sector is made up of cattle ranches and small farms producing coconuts, breadfruit, tomatoes, and melons. Garment production is by far the most important industry with employment of 17,500 mostly Chinese workers and sizable shipments to the US under duty and quota exemptions. |
Electricity - consumption | NA kWh | NA kWh |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh |
Electricity - imports | - | 0 kWh |
Electricity - production | NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by the US military | NA kWh |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Diego Garcia 15 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Agrihan 965 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | contamination of groundwater on Saipan may contribute to disease; clean-up of landfill; protection of endangered species conflicts with development |
Ethnic groups | - | Chamorro, Carolinians and other Micronesians, Caucasian, Japanese, Chinese, Filipino, Korean |
Exchange rates | - | the US dollar is used |
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 George W. BUSH of the US (since 20 January 2001); Vice President Richard B. CHENEY (since 20 January 2001)
head of government: Governor Juan N. BABAUTA (since NA January 2002); Lieutenant Governor Diego T. BENAVENTE (since NA January 2002) cabinet: NA elections: US president and vice president elected on the same ticket for four-year terms; governor and lieutenant governor elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms; election last held NA November 2001 (next to be held NA November 2005) election results: Juan N. BABAUTA elected governor in a four-way race; percent of vote - Juan N. BABAUTA (Republican Party) 49% |
Exports | - | NA |
Exports - commodities | - | garments |
Exports - partners | - | US (2000) |
Fiscal year | - | 1 October - 30 September |
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 | blue, with a white, five-pointed star superimposed on the gray silhouette of a latte stone (a traditional foundation stone used in building) in the center, surrounded by a wreath |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $900 million
note: GDP estimate includes US subsidy (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | - | agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: NA |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $12,500 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | - | NA |
Geographic coordinates | 6 00 S, 71 30 E | 15 12 N, 145 45 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 in the North Pacific Ocean |
Heliports | - | 1 (2003 est.) |
Highways | total: NA km
paved: short stretch of paved road of NA km between port and airfield on Diego Garcia unpaved: NA km |
total: 362 km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km (1991) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | - | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Imports | - | NA |
Imports - commodities | - | food, construction equipment and materials, petroleum products |
Imports - partners | - | US, Japan (2000) |
Independence | - | none (commonwealth in political union with the US) |
Industrial production growth rate | - | NA |
Industries | - | tourism, construction, garments, handicrafts |
Infant mortality rate | - | total: 7.25 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 7.18 deaths/1,000 live births female: 7.32 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | - | 1.2% (1997 est.) |
International organization participation | - | Interpol (subbureau) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 0 sq km (1998 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | - | Commonwealth Supreme Court; Superior Court; Federal District Court |
Labor force | - | 6,006 total indigenous labor force; 2,699 unemployed; 28,717 foreign workers (June 1995) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | NA |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land: NEGL
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 13.04%
permanent crops: 4.35% other: 82.61% (2001) |
Languages | - | English, Chamorro, Carolinian
note: 86% of population speaks a language other than English at home |
Legal system | the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply | based on US system, except for customs, wages, immigration laws, and taxation |
Legislative branch | - | bicameral Legislature consists of the Senate (9 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year staggered terms) and the House of Representatives (18 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve two-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 1 November 2003 (next to be held 5 November 2005); House of Representatives - last held 1 November 2003 (next to be held 5 November 2005) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Covenant Party 9, Republican Party 7, Democratic Party 1, independent 1 note: the Northern Mariana Islands does not have a nonvoting delegate in the US Congress; instead, it has an elected official or "resident representative" located in Washington, DC; seats by party - Republican Party 1 (Pedro A. TENORIO) |
Life expectancy at birth | - | total population: 75.67 years
male: 73.11 years female: 78.38 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | - | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97% male: 97% female: 96% (1980 est.) |
Location | Southern Asia, archipelago in the Indian Ocean, about one-half the way from Africa to Indonesia | Oceania, islands in the North Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to the Philippines |
Map references | Political Map of the World | Oceania |
Maritime claims | exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 3 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | - | none |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the UK; the US lease on Diego Garcia expires in 2016 | defense is the responsibility of the US |
National holiday | - | Commonwealth Day, 8 January (1978) |
Nationality | - | noun: NA
adjective: NA |
Natural hazards | NA | active volcanoes on Pagan and Agrihan; typhoons (especially August to November) |
Natural resources | coconuts, fish, sugarcane | arable land, fish |
Net migration rate | - | 9.61 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | - | Democratic Party [Dr. Carlos S. CAMACHO]; Republican Party [NA]; Covenant Party [Benigno R. FITIAL] |
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.) |
78,252 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | - | NA |
Population growth rate | - | 2.71% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Diego Garcia | Saipan, Tinian |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | NA | - |
Religions | - | Christian (Roman Catholic majority, although traditional beliefs and taboos may still be found) |
Sex ratio | - | at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.09 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.72 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.97 male(s)/female total population: 0.79 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
Suffrage | - | 18 years of age; universal; indigenous inhabitants are US citizens but do not vote in US presidential elections |
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: NA
domestic: NA international: country code - 1-670; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | NA | 21,000 (2000) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | - | 3,000 (2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 1 (on Saipan and one station planned for Rota; in addition, two cable services on Saipan provide varied programming from satellite networks) (1997) |
Terrain | flat and low (most areas do not exceed four meters in elevation) | southern islands are limestone with level terraces and fringing coral reefs; northern islands are volcanic |
Total fertility rate | - | 1.33 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | - | NA |
Waterways | none | - |