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Compare British Indian Ocean Territory (2002) - Sierra Leone (2001)
Compare British Indian Ocean Territory (2002) z Sierra Leone (2001)
| British Indian Ocean Territory (2002) | Sierra Leone (2001) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | - | 3 provinces and 1 area*; Eastern, Northern, Southern, Western* |
| Age structure | - | 0-14 years:
44.73% (male 1,190,207; female 1,237,326) 15-64 years: 52.12% (male 1,351,455; female 1,477,155) 65 years and over: 3.15% (male 84,364; female 86,111) (2001 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | - | rice, coffee, cocoa, palm kernels, palm oil, peanuts; poultry, cattle, sheep, pigs; fish |
| Airports | 1 (2001) | 11 (2000 est.) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2002) |
total:
1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total:
10 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
| Area | total: 60 sq km
land: 60 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes the entire Chagos Archipelago |
total:
71,740 sq km land: 71,620 sq km water: 120 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. | Since 1991, civil war between the government and the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of more than 2 million people (well over one-third of the population) many of whom are now refugees in neighboring countries. A peace agreement, signed in July 1999, collapsed in May 2000 after the RUF took over 500 UN peacekeepers hostage. The RUF stepped up attacks on Guinea in December 2000, despite a cease-fire that it signed with the Freetown government one month earlier. As of late 2000, up to 13,000 UN peacekeepers were protecting the capital and key towns in the south. A UK force of 750 was helping to reinforce security and train the Sierra Leone army. |
| Birth rate | - | 45.11 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Budget | - | revenues:
$96 million expenditures: $351 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
| Capital | - | Freetown |
| Climate | tropical marine; hot, humid, moderated by trade winds | tropical; hot, humid; summer rainy season (May to December); winter dry season (December to April) |
| Coastline | 698 km | 402 km |
| Constitution | - | 1 October 1991; subsequently amended several times |
| Country name | conventional long form: British Indian Ocean Territory
conventional short form: none abbreviation: BIOT |
conventional long form:
Republic of Sierra Leone conventional short form: Sierra Leone |
| Currency | - | leone (SLL) |
| Death rate | - | 19.19 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Debt - external | - | $1.28 billion (1999) |
| 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 Joseph H. MELROSE, Jr. embassy: Corner of Walpole and Siaka Stevens Streets, Freetown mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [232] (22) 226481 through 226485 FAX: [232] (22) 225471 |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | chief of mission:
Ambassador John Ernest LEIGH chancery: 1701 19th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 939-9261 through 9263 FAX: [1] (202) 483-1793 |
| 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 | civil war has engendered massive refugee movements into neighboring Guinea and Liberia |
| Economic aid - recipient | - | $203.7 million (1995) |
| 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. | Sierra Leone is an extremely poor African nation with tremendous inequality in income distribution. It does have substantial mineral, agricultural, and fishery resources. However, the economic and social infrastructure is not well developed, and serious social disorders continue to hamper economic development. About two-thirds of the working-age population engages in subsistence agriculture. Manufacturing consists mainly of the processing of raw materials and of light manufacturing for the domestic market. Bauxite and rutile mines have been shut down by civil strife. The major source of hard currency is found in the mining of diamonds, the large majority of which are smuggled out of the country. The resurgence of internal warfare in 1999 brought another substantial drop in GDP, with GNP recovering part of the way in 2000. The fate of the economy depends upon the maintenance of domestic peace and the continued receipt of substantial aid from abroad. |
| Electricity - consumption | NA kWh | 223.2 million kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - imports | - | 0 kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - production | NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by the US military | 240 million kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Diego Garcia 15 m |
lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Loma Mansa (Bintimani) 1,948 m |
| Environment - current issues | NA | rapid population growth pressuring the environment; overharvesting of timber, expansion of cattle grazing, and slash-and-burn agriculture have resulted in deforestation and soil exhaustion; civil war depleting natural resources; overfishing |
| Environment - international agreements | - | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
| Ethnic groups | - | 20 native African tribes 90% (Temne 30%, Mende 30%, other 30%), Creole 10% (descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area in the late-18th century), refugees from Liberia's recent civil war, small numbers of Europeans, Lebanese, Pakistanis, and Indians |
| Exchange rates | - | leones per US dollar - 1,653.39 (January 2001), 2,092.13 (2000), 1,804.20 (1999), 1,563.62 (1998), 981.48 (1997), 920.73 (1996) |
| 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 Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (since 29 March 1996, reinstated 10 March 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (since 29 March 1996, reinstated 10 March 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Ministers of State appointed by the president with the approval of the House of Representatives; the cabinet is responsible to the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election held 26-27 February and 15 March 1996 (next to be held NA September 2001); note - president's tenure of office is limited to two five-year terms election results: Ahmad Tejan KABBAH elected president; percent of vote - Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (SLPP) 59.5%, John KAREFA-SMART (UNPP) 40.5% |
| Exports | - | $65 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
| Exports - commodities | - | diamonds, rutile, cocoa, coffee, fish |
| Exports - partners | - | Belgium 38%, US 6%, Italy 4%, UK 4% (1999) |
| 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 equal horizontal bands of light green (top), white, and light blue |
| GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $2.7 billion (2000 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | - | agriculture:
43% industry: 26% services: 31% (1999) |
| GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $510 (2000 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | - | 4.2% (2000 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 6 00 S, 71 30 E | 8 30 N, 11 30 W |
| 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 | - |
| Heliports | - | 1 (2000 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:
11,300 km paved: 904 km unpaved: 10,396 km (1997) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | - | lowest 10%:
0.5% highest 10%: 43.6% (1989) |
| Imports | - | $145 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
| Imports - commodities | - | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels and lubricants, chemicals |
| Imports - partners | - | UK 34%, US 8%, Italy 7%, Nigeria 5% (1999) |
| Independence | - | 27 April 1961 (from UK) |
| Industrial production growth rate | - | NA% |
| Industries | - | mining (diamonds); small-scale manufacturing (beverages, textiles, cigarettes, footwear); petroleum refining |
| Infant mortality rate | - | 146.52 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | - | 15% (2000 est.) |
| International organization participation | - | ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 1 (2000) |
| Irrigated land | 0 sq km (1998 est.) | 290 sq km (1993 est.) |
| Judicial branch | - | Supreme Court; Appeals Court; High Court |
| Labor force | - | 1.369 million (1981 est.)
note: only about 65,000 wage earners (1985) |
| Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% |
| Land boundaries | 0 km | total:
958 km border countries: Guinea 652 km, Liberia 306 km |
| Land use | arable land: NEGL
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (1998 est.) |
arable land:
7% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 31% forests and woodland: 28% other: 33% (1993 est.) |
| Languages | - | English (official, regular use limited to literate minority), Mende (principal vernacular in the south), Temne (principal vernacular in the north), Krio (English-based Creole, spoken by the descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area, a lingua franca and a first language for 10% of the population but understood by 95%) |
| Legal system | the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply | based on English law and customary laws indigenous to local tribes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
| Legislative branch | - | unicameral House of Representatives (80 seats - 68 elected by popular vote, 12 filled by paramount chiefs elected in separate elections; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 26-27 February 1996 (next to be held NA 2001) election results: percent of vote by party - SLPP 36.1%, UNPP 21.6%, PDP 15.3%, APC 5.7%, NUP 5.3%, DCP 4.8%, other 11.2%; seats by party - SLPP 27, UNPP 17, PDP 12, APC 5, NUP 4, DCP 3; note - first elections since the former House of Representatives was shut down by the military coup of 29 April 1992 |
| Life expectancy at birth | - | total population:
45.6 years male: 42.69 years female: 48.61 years (2001 est.) |
| Literacy | - | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write English, Mende, Temne, or Arabic total population: 31.4% male: 45.4% female: 18.2% (1995 est.) |
| Location | Southern Asia, archipelago in the Indian Ocean, about one-half the way from Africa to Indonesia | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Liberia |
| Map references | Political Map of the World | Africa |
| Maritime claims | exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 3 NM |
territorial sea:
200 NM continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
| Merchant marine | - | total:
1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,057 GRT/3,498 DWT ships by type: cargo 1 (2000 est.) |
| Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the UK; the US lease on Diego Garcia expires in 2016 | - |
| Military branches | - | Army |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $46 million (FY96/97) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 2% (FY96/97) |
| Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
1,161,790 (2001 est.) |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
563,631 (2001 est.) |
| National holiday | - | Independence Day, 27 April (1961) |
| Nationality | - | noun:
Sierra Leonean(s) adjective: Sierra Leonean |
| Natural hazards | NA | dry, sand-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to February); sandstorms, dust storms |
| Natural resources | coconuts, fish, sugarcane | diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold, chromite |
| Net migration rate | - | 10.23 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)
note: by the end of 1999 refugees from Sierra Leone are assumed to be returning |
| Political parties and leaders | - | All People's Congress or APC [Edward Mohammed TURAY, chairman]; Democratic Centre Party or DCP [Adu Aiah KOROMA]; National Democratic Alliance or NDA [Amadu M. B. JALLOH]; National Republican Party or NRP [Sahr Stephen MAMBU]; National Unity Party or NUP [Dr. John KARIMU, chairman]; People's Democratic Party or PDP [Thaimu BANGURA, chairman]; People's Progressive Party or PPP [Abass Chernok BUNDU, chairman]; Revolutionary United Front Party or RUFP [Foday SANKOH, chairman]; Sierra Leone People's Party or SLPP [President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH, chairman]; United National People's Party or UNPP [John KARIFA-SMART in exile, Raymond KAMARA, acting leader] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | - | Trade Unions and Student Unions |
| 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.) |
5,426,618 (July 2001 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | - | 68% (1989 est.) |
| Population growth rate | - | 3.61% (2001 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Diego Garcia | Bonthe, Freetown, Pepel |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 1, FM 9, shortwave 1 (1999) |
| Radios | NA | 1.12 million (1997) |
| Railways | - | total:
84 km used on a limited basis because the mine at Marampa is closed narrow gauge: 84 km 1.067-m gauge |
| Religions | - | Muslim 60%, indigenous beliefs 30%, Christian 10% |
| Sex ratio | - | at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.98 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2001 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:
marginal telephone and telegraph service domestic: national microwave radio relay trunk system, made unserviceable by military activities, is now operating from Freetown to Bo and Kenema (April 2001) international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
| Telephones - main lines in use | NA | 17,000 (1997) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | - | 650 (1999) |
| Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 2 (1999) |
| Terrain | flat and low (most areas do not exceed four meters in elevation) | coastal belt of mangrove swamps, wooded hill country, upland plateau, mountains in east |
| Total fertility rate | - | 6.01 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | - | NA% |
| Waterways | none | 800 km (of which 600 km navigable year round) |
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