Jah-Jah.pl / Index countries / British Indian Ocean Territory (2002) - Sri Lanka (2001) / Compare countries
##ciekawa_strona##
Compare British Indian Ocean Territory (2002) - Sri Lanka (2001)
Compare British Indian Ocean Territory (2002) z Sri Lanka (2001)
| British Indian Ocean Territory (2002) | Sri Lanka (2001) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | - | 8 provinces; Central, North Central, North Eastern, North Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, Uva, Western; note - North Eastern province may have been divided in two - Northern and Eastern |
| Age structure | - | 0-14 years:
25.99% (male 2,578,618; female 2,464,928) 15-64 years: 67.39% (male 6,369,881; female 6,708,852) 65 years and over: 6.62% (male 615,253; female 671,103) (2001 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | - | rice, sugarcane, grains, pulses, oilseed, spices, tea, rubber, coconuts; milk, eggs, hides, beef |
| Airports | 1 (2001) | 14 (2000 est.) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2002) |
total:
12 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 6 (2000 est.) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total:
2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
| Area | total: 60 sq km
land: 60 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes the entire Chagos Archipelago |
total:
65,610 sq km land: 64,740 sq km water: 870 sq km |
| Area - comparative | about 0.3 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly larger than West Virginia |
| 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. | Occupied by the Portuguese in the 16th century and the Dutch in the 17th century, the island was ceded to the British in 1802. As Ceylon it became independent in 1948; its name was changed in 1972. Tensions between the Sinhalese majority and Tamil separatists erupted in violence in the mid-1980s. Tens of thousands have died in an ethnic war that continues to fester. |
| Birth rate | - | 16.58 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Budget | - | revenues:
$3 billion expenditures: $3 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
| Capital | - | Colombo; note - Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte is the legislative capital |
| Climate | tropical marine; hot, humid, moderated by trade winds | tropical monsoon; northeast monsoon (December to March); southwest monsoon (June to October) |
| Coastline | 698 km | 1,340 km |
| Constitution | - | adopted 16 August 1978 |
| Country name | conventional long form: British Indian Ocean Territory
conventional short form: none abbreviation: BIOT |
conventional long form:
Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka conventional short form: Sri Lanka former: Serendib, Ceylon |
| Currency | - | Sri Lankan rupee (LKR) |
| Death rate | - | 6.43 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Debt - external | - | $9.9 billion (2000) |
| 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 E. Ashley WILLS embassy: 210 Galle Road, Colombo 3 mailing address: P. O. Box 106, Colombo telephone: [94] (1) 448007 FAX: [94] (1) 437345 |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | chief of mission:
Ambassador Warnasena RASAPUTRAM chancery: 2148 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 483-4025 (through 4028) FAX: [1] (202) 232-7181 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles consulate(s): 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 | none |
| Economic aid - recipient | - | $577 million (1998) |
| 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. | In 1977, Colombo abandoned statist economic policies and its import substitution trade policy for market-oriented policies and export-oriented trade. Sri Lanka's most dynamic sectors now are food processing, textiles and apparel, food and beverages, telecommunications, and insurance and banking. By 1996 plantation crops made up only 20% of exports (compared with 93% in 1970), while textiles and garments accounted for 63%. GDP grew at an annual average rate of 5.5% throughout the 1990s until a drought and a deteriorating security situation lowered growth to 3.8% in 1996. The economy rebounded in 1997-98 with growth of 6.4% and 4.7% - but slowed to 4.3% in 1999. Growth increased to 5.6% in 2000, with growth in tourism and exports leading the way. But a resurgence of civil war between the Sinhalese and the minority Tamils and a possible slowdown in tourism dampen prospects for 2001. For the next round of reforms, the central bank of Sri Lanka recommends that Colombo expand market mechanisms in nonplantation agriculture, dismantle the government's monopoly on wheat imports, and promote more competition in the financial sector. |
| Electricity - consumption | NA kWh | 5.604 billion kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - imports | - | 0 kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - production | NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by the US military | 6.026 billion kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
29.9% hydro: 70.1% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
| 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: Pidurutalagala 2,524 m |
| Environment - current issues | NA | deforestation; soil erosion; wildlife populations threatened by poaching and urbanization; coastal degradation from mining activities and increased pollution; freshwater resources being polluted by industrial wastes and sewage runoff; waste disposal; air pollution in Colombo |
| Environment - international agreements | - | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation |
| Ethnic groups | - | Sinhalese 74%, Tamil 18%, Moor 7%, Burgher, Malay, and Vedda 1% |
| Exchange rates | - | Sri Lankan rupees per US dollar - 83.506 (January 2001), 77.005 (2000), 70.635 (1999), 64.450 (1998), 58.995 (1997), 55.271 (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 Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA (since 12 November 1994); note - Ratnasiri WICKRAMANAYAKE (since 10 August 2000) is the prime minister; in Sri Lanka the president is considered to be both the chief of state and the head of the government, this is in contrast to the more common practice of dividing the roles between the president and the prime minister when both offices exist head of government: President Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA (since 12 November 1994); note - Ratnasiri WICKRAMANAYAKE (since 10 August 2000) is the prime minister; in Sri Lanka the president is considered to be both the chief of state and the head of the government, this is in contrast to the more common practice of dividing the roles between the president and the prime minister when both offices exist cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president in consultation with the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term; election last held 21 December 1999 (next to be held NA December 2005) election results: Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA reelected president; percent of vote - Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA (PA) 51%, Ranil WICKREMASINGHE (UNP) 42%, other 7% |
| Exports | - | $5.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000) |
| Exports - commodities | - | textiles and apparel, tea, diamonds, coconut products, petroleum products |
| Exports - partners | - | US 39%, UK 13%, Middle East 8%, Germany 5%, Japan 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 | yellow with two panels; the smaller hoist-side panel has two equal vertical bands of green (hoist side) and orange; the other panel is a large dark red rectangle with a yellow lion holding a sword, and there is a yellow bo leaf in each corner; the yellow field appears as a border that goes around the entire flag and extends between the two panels |
| GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $62.7 billion (2000 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | - | agriculture:
21% industry: 19% services: 60% (1998) |
| GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $3,250 (2000 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | - | 5.6% (2000 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 6 00 S, 71 30 E | 7 00 N, 81 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 | strategic location near major Indian Ocean sea lanes |
| Highways | total: NA km
paved: short stretch of paved road of NA km between port and airfield on Diego Garcia unpaved: NA km |
total:
11,285 km paved: 10,721 km unpaved: 564 km (1998 est.) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | - | lowest 10%:
1.8% highest 10%: 39.7% (1995-96 est.) |
| Imports | - | $6.1 billion (f.o.b., 2000) |
| Imports - commodities | - | machinery and equipment, textiles, petroleum, foodstuffs |
| Imports - partners | - | Japan 10%, India 9%, Hong Kong 8%, Singapore 8%, South Korea 6% (1999) |
| Independence | - | 4 February 1948 (from UK) |
| Industrial production growth rate | - | 4% (1999) |
| Industries | - | processing of rubber, tea, coconuts, and other agricultural commodities; clothing, cement, petroleum refining, textiles, tobacco |
| Infant mortality rate | - | 16.08 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | - | 8.5% (2000 est.) |
| International organization participation | - | AsDB, C, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAS (observer), OPCW, PCA, SAARC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNTAET, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 5 (2000) |
| Irrigated land | 0 sq km (1998 est.) | 5,500 sq km (1993 est.) |
| Judicial branch | - | Supreme Court; Court of Appeals; judges for both courts are appointed by the president |
| Labor force | - | 6.6 million (1998) |
| Labor force - by occupation | - | services 45%, agriculture 38%, industry 17% (1998 est.) |
| Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
| Land use | arable land: NEGL
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (1998 est.) |
arable land:
14% permanent crops: 15% permanent pastures: 7% forests and woodland: 32% other: 32% (1993 est.) |
| Languages | - | Sinhala (official and national language) 74%, Tamil (national language) 18%, other 8%
note: English is commonly used in government and is spoken competently by about 10% of the population |
| Legal system | the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply | a highly complex mixture of English common law, Roman-Dutch, Muslim, Sinhalese, and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
| Legislative branch | - | unicameral Parliament (225 seats; members elected by popular vote on the basis of a modified proportional representation system by district to serve six-year terms)
elections: last held 10 October 2000 (next to be held NA October 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - PA 45.11%, UNP 40.22%, JVP 6%, NUA 2.29%, SU 1.48%, TULF 1.23%, other 3.67%; seats by party - PA 107, UNP 89, JVP 10, TULF 5, EPDP 4, NUA 4, TELO 3, ACTC 1, SU 1, independent 1 |
| Life expectancy at birth | - | total population:
72.09 years male: 69.58 years female: 74.73 years (2001 est.) |
| Literacy | - | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 90.2% male: 93.4% female: 87.2% (1995 est.) |
| Location | Southern Asia, archipelago in the Indian Ocean, about one-half the way from Africa to Indonesia | Southern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of India |
| Map references | Political Map of the World | Asia |
| Maritime claims | exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 3 NM |
contiguous zone:
24 NM continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
| Merchant marine | - | total:
20 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 149,902 GRT/247,852 DWT ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 16, container 1, petroleum tanker 1, refrigerated 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, Navy, Air Force, Police Force |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $719 million (FY98) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 4.2% (FY98) |
| Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
5,304,323 (2001 est.) |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
4,119,511 (2001 est.) |
| Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age |
| Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
193,522 (2001 est.) |
| National holiday | - | Independence Day, 4 February (1948) |
| Nationality | - | noun:
Sri Lankan(s) adjective: Sri Lankan |
| Natural hazards | NA | occasional cyclones and tornadoes |
| Natural resources | coconuts, fish, sugarcane | limestone, graphite, mineral sands, gems, phosphates, clay, hydropower |
| Net migration rate | - | -1.43 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Pipelines | - | crude oil and petroleum products 62 km (1987) |
| Political parties and leaders | - | All Ceylon Tamil Congress or ACTC [Nalliah GURUPAUAN]; Ceylon Workers Congress or CLDC [Arumugam THONDAMAN]; Communist Party [Raja COLLURE]; Democratic United National (Lalith) Front or DUNLF [Srimani ATHULATHMUDALI]; Eelam People's Democratic Party or EPDP [Douglas DEVANANDA]; Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front or EPRLF [Suresh PREMACHANDRA]; Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna or JVP [Tilvan SILVA]; National Unity Alliance or NUA [leader NA]; People's Alliance or PA [Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA]; People's Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam or PLOTE [D. SIDDATHAN]; Sihala Urumaya or SU [leader NA]; Sri Lanka Freedom Party or SLFP [Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA]; Sri Lanka Muslim Congress or SLMC [Rauff HAKEEM and Ferial ASHRAFF]; Sri Lanka Progressive Front or SLPF [leader NA]; Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization or TELO [SUBRAMANIUM]; Tamil United Liberation Front or TULF [R. SAMPATHAN]; United National Party or UNP [Ranil WICKREMASINGHE]; Upcountry People's Front or UPF [P. CHANDRASEKARAN]; several ethnic Tamil and Muslim parties, represented in either parliament or provincial councils |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | - | Buddhist clergy; labor unions; Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam or LTTE (insurgent group fighting for a separate state); radical chauvinist Sinhalese groups such as the National Movement Against Terrorism; Sinhalese Buddhist lay 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.) |
19,408,635 (July 2001 est.)
note: since the outbreak of hostilities between the government and armed Tamil separatists in the mid-1980s, several hundred thousand Tamil civilians have fled the island; as of mid-1999, approximately 66,000 were housed in 133 refugee camps in south India, another 40,000 lived outside the Indian camps, and more than 200,000 Tamils have sought refuge in the West |
| Population below poverty line | - | 22% (1997 est.) |
| Population growth rate | - | 0.87% (2001 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Diego Garcia | Colombo, Galle, Jaffna, Trincomalee |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 26, FM 45, shortwave 1 (1998) |
| Radios | NA | 3.85 million (1997) |
| Railways | - | total:
1,463 km broad gauge: 1,404 km 1.676-m gauge narrow gauge: 59 km 0.762-m gauge (1996) |
| Religions | - | Buddhist 70%, Hindu 15%, Christian 8%, Muslim 7% (1999) |
| Sex ratio | - | at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.92 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 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:
very inadequate domestic service, particularly in rural areas; some hope for improvement with privatization of national telephone company and encouragement to private investment; good international service (1999) domestic: national trunk network consists mostly of digital microwave radio relay; fiber-optic links now in use in Colombo area and two fixed wireless local loops have been installed; competition is strong in mobile cellular systems; telephone density remains low at 2.6 main lines per 100 persons (1999) international: submarine cables to Indonesia and Djibouti; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) (1999) |
| Telephones - main lines in use | NA | 494,509 (1998) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | - | 228,604 (1999) |
| Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 21 (1997) |
| Terrain | flat and low (most areas do not exceed four meters in elevation) | mostly low, flat to rolling plain; mountains in south-central interior |
| Total fertility rate | - | 1.95 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | - | 8.8% (1999 est.) |
| Waterways | none | 430 km (navigable by shallow-draft craft) |
Sitemap:
Compare countries listing (map site) |
Country listing (map site)
Links: Add to favorites | Information about this website | Stats | Polityka prywatnosci
This page was generated in ##czas## s. Size this page: ##rozmiar_strony## kB.
Links: Add to favorites | Information about this website | Stats | Polityka prywatnosci
This page was generated in ##czas## s. Size this page: ##rozmiar_strony## kB.