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

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

	British Indian Ocean Territory (2002)	Reunion (2003)

Administrative divisions	-	none (overseas department of France); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 4 arrondissements, 24 communes, and 47 cantons
Age structure	-	0-14 years: 31.3% (male 121,119; female 115,501) 15-64 years: 62.8% (male 233,607; female 240,502) 65 years and over: 5.9% (male 18,036; female 26,406) (2003 est.)
Agriculture - products	-	sugarcane, vanilla, tobacco, tropical fruits, vegetables, corn
Airports	1 (2001)	2 (2002)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2002)	total: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002)
Area	total: 60 sq km land: 60 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes the entire Chagos Archipelago	total: 2,517 sq km land: 2,507 sq km water: 10 sq km
Area - comparative	about 0.3 times the size of Washington, DC	slightly smaller than Rhode Island
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 Portuguese discovered the uninhabited island in 1513. From the 17th to the 19th centuries, French immigration, supplemented by influxes of Africans, Chinese, Malays, and Malabar Indians, gave the island its ethnic mix. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 cost the island its importance as a stopover on the East Indies trade route.
Birth rate	-	20.17 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Budget	-	revenues: $1.26 billion expenditures: $2.62 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1998)
Capital	-	Saint-Denis
Climate	tropical marine; hot, humid, moderated by trade winds	tropical, but temperature moderates with elevation; cool and dry from May to November, hot and rainy from November to April
Coastline	698 km	207 km
Constitution	-	28 September 1958 (French Constitution)
Country name	conventional long form: British Indian Ocean Territory conventional short form: none abbreviation: BIOT	conventional long form: Department of Reunion conventional short form: Reunion local long form: none local short form: Ile de la Reunion former: Bourbon Island
Currency	-	euro (EUR)
Death rate	-	5.49 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Debt - external	-	$NA
Dependency status	overseas territory of the UK; administered by a commissioner, resident in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London	overseas department of France
Diplomatic representation from the US	none (overseas territory of the UK)	none (overseas department of France)
Diplomatic representation in the US	none (overseas territory of the UK)	none (overseas department of France)
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	-	$NA; note - substantial annual subsidies from France
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 has traditionally been based on agriculture, but services now dominate. Sugarcane has been the primary crop for more than a century, and in some years it accounts for 85% of exports. The government has been pushing the development of a tourist industry to relieve high unemployment, which amounts to one-third of the labor force. The gap in Reunion between the well-off and the poor is extraordinary and accounts for the persistent social tensions. The white and Indian communities are substantially better off than other segments of the population, often approaching European standards, whereas minority groups suffer the poverty and unemployment typical of the poorer nations of the African continent. The outbreak of severe rioting in February 1991 illustrates the seriousness of socioeconomic tensions. The economic well-being of Reunion depends heavily on continued financial assistance from France.
Electricity - consumption	NA kWh	1.005 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports	-	0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports	-	0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - production	NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by the US military	1.08 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source	-	fossil fuel: 55.5% hydro: 44.5% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location on Diego Garcia 15 m	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Piton des Neiges 3,069 m
Environment - current issues	NA	NA
Ethnic groups	-	French, African, Malagasy, Chinese, Pakistani, Indian
Exchange rates	-	euros per US dollar - 1.06 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); French francs per US dollar - 5.8995 (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: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Gonthier FRIEDERICI (since NA) head of government: President of the General Council Jean-Luc POUDROUX (since NA March 1998) and President of the Regional Council Paul VERGES (since NA March 1993) cabinet: NA elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of the Interior; the presidents of the General and Regional Councils are elected by the members of those councils
Exports	-	NA (2001)
Exports - commodities	-	sugar 63%, rum and molasses 4%, perfume essences 2%, lobster 3%, (1993)
Exports - partners	-	France 74%, Japan 6%, Comoros 4% (2000)
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	the flag of France is used
GDP	-	purchasing power parity - $4.174 billion (1999 est.)
GDP - composition by sector	-	agriculture: 8% industry: 19% services: 73% (2000 est.)
GDP - per capita	-	purchasing power parity - $5,600 (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	-	2.5% (2002 est.)
Geographic coordinates	6 00 S, 71 30 E	21 06 S, 55 36 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	this mountainous, volcanic island has an active volcano, Piton de la Fournaise; there is a tropical cyclone center at Saint-Denis, which is the monitoring station for the whole of the Indian Ocean
Highways	total: NA km paved: short stretch of paved road of NA km between port and airfield on Diego Garcia unpaved: NA km	total: 2,724 km paved: 1,300 km (including 73 km of four-lane road) unpaved: 1,424 km (1994)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	-	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
Imports	-	NA (2001)
Imports - commodities	-	manufactured goods, food, beverages, tobacco, machinery and transportation equipment, raw materials, and petroleum products
Imports - partners	-	France 64%, Bahrain 3%, Germany 3%, Italy 3% (2000)
Independence	-	none (overseas department of France)
Industrial production growth rate	-	NA%
Industries	-	sugar, rum, cigarettes, handicraft items, flower oil extraction
Infant mortality rate	-	total: 8.13 deaths/1,000 live births male: 8.89 deaths/1,000 live births female: 7.34 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	-	NA%
International organization participation	-	FZ, InOC, WFTU
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)	1 (2000)	1 (2000)
Irrigated land	0 sq km (1998 est.)	120 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch	-	Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel
Labor force	-	309,900 (2000)
Labor force - by occupation	-	agriculture 13%, industry 12%, services 75% (2000)
Land boundaries	0 km	0 km
Land use	arable land: NEGL permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (1998 est.)	arable land: 13.2% permanent crops: 2% other: 84.8% (1998 est.)
Languages	-	French (official), Creole widely used
Legal system	the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply	French law
Legislative branch	-	unicameral General Council (49 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve six-year terms) and a unicameral Regional Council (45 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve six-year terms) elections: General Council - last held 15 and 22 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2004); Regional Council - last held 15 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - various right-wing candidates 13, PCR 10, PS 10, UDF 8, RPR 6, other left-wing candidates 2; Regional Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PCR 19, UDF 9, RPR 8, various right-wing candidates 4, various left-wing candidates 5 note: Reunion elects three representatives to the French Senate; elections last held NA 2001 (next to be held NA 2006); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; Reunion also elects five deputies to the French National Assembly; elections last held 9 June-16 June 2002 (next to be held NA 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - UMP-RPR 1, UMP 1, PCR 1
Life expectancy at birth	-	total population: 73.43 years male: 70.03 years female: 77 years (2003 est.)
Literacy	-	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 88.9% male: 87% female: 90.8% (2003 est.)
Location	Southern Asia, archipelago in the Indian Ocean, about one-half the way from Africa to Indonesia	Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar
Map references	Political Map of the World	World
Maritime claims	exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 3 NM	exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM
Military - note	defense is the responsibility of the UK; the US lease on Diego Garcia expires in 2016	defense is the responsibility of France
Military branches	-	no regular indigenous military forces; French forces (including Army, Navy, Air Force, and Gendarmerie)
Military manpower - availability	-	males age 15-49: 198,341 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service	-	males age 15-49: 101,116 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - military age	-	18 years of age (2003 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually	-	males: 6,795 (2003 est.)
National holiday	-	Bastille Day, 14 July (1789)
Nationality	-	noun: Reunionese (singular and plural) adjective: Reunionese
Natural hazards	NA	periodic, devastating cyclones (December to April); Piton de la Fournaise on the southeastern coast is an active volcano
Natural resources	coconuts, fish, sugarcane	fish, arable land, hydropower
Net migration rate	-	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Political parties and leaders	-	Communist Party of Reunion or PCR [Paul VERGES]; Rally for the Republic or RPR [Andre Maurice PIHOUEE]; Socialist Party or PS [Jean-Claude FRUTEAU]; Union for French Democracy or UDF [Gilbert GERARD]
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.)	755,171 (July 2003 est.)
Population below poverty line	-	NA%
Population growth rate	-	1.47% (2003 est.)
Ports and harbors	Diego Garcia	Le Port, Pointe des Galets
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998)	AM 2, FM 55, shortwave 0 (2001)
Radios	NA	-
Railways	-	0 km
Religions	-	Roman Catholic 86%, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist (1995)
Sex ratio	-	at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 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: adequate system; principal center is Saint-Denis domestic: modern open-wire and microwave radio relay network international: radiotelephone communication to Comoros, France, Madagascar; new microwave route to Mauritius; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean)
Telephones - main lines in use	NA	268,500 (1999)
Telephones - mobile cellular	-	197,000 (September 2000)
Television broadcast stations	1 (1997)	35 (plus 18 low-power repeaters) (2001)
Terrain	flat and low (most areas do not exceed four meters in elevation)	mostly rugged and mountainous; fertile lowlands along coast
Total fertility rate	-	2.53 children born/woman (2003 est.)
Unemployment rate	-	36% (1999 est.)
Waterways	none	none

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