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

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

	British Indian Ocean Territory (2003)	Argentina (2002)

Administrative divisions	-	23 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia), and 1 autonomous city* (distrito federal); Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires Capital Federal*, Catamarca, Chaco, Chubut, Cordoba, Corrientes, Entre Rios, Formosa, Jujuy, La Pampa, La Rioja, Mendoza, Misiones, Neuquen, Rio Negro, Salta, San Juan, San Luis, Santa Cruz, Santa Fe, Santiago del Estero, Tierra del Fuego - Antartida e Islas del Atlantico Sur, Tucuman note: the US does not recognize any claims to Antarctica
Age structure	-	0-14 years: 26.3% (male 5,090,046; female 4,854,761) 15-64 years: 63.2% (male 11,968,135; female 11,937,709) 65 years and over: 10.5% (male 1,636,332; female 2,325,834) (2002 est.)
Agriculture - products	-	sunflower seeds, lemons, soybeans, grapes, corn, tobacco, peanuts, tea, wheat; livestock
Airports	1 (2002)	1,369 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2002)	total: 145 over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 26 1,524 to 2,437 m: 62 914 to 1,523 m: 44 under 914 m: 9 (2002)
Airports - with unpaved runways	-	total: 1,197 1,225 over 3,047 m: 2 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 50 53 914 to 1,523 m: 572 598 under 914 m: 571 570 (2002)
Area	total: 60 sq km land: 60 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes the entire Chagos Archipelago	total: 2,766,890 sq km land: 2,736,690 sq km water: 30,200 sq km
Area - comparative	about 0.3 times the size of Washington, DC	slightly less than three-tenths the size of the US
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 that had excluded them from the archipelago, but upheld the special military status of Diego Garcia.	Following independence from Spain in 1816, Argentina experienced periods of internal political conflict between conservatives and liberals and between civilian and military factions. After World War II, a long period of Peronist authoritarian rule and interference in subsequent governments was followed by a military junta that took power in 1976. Democracy returned in 1983, and numerous elections since then have underscored Argentina's progress in democratic consolidation.
Birth rate	-	18.23 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Budget	-	revenues: $44 billion expenditures: $48 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.)
Capital	-	Buenos Aires
Climate	tropical marine; hot, humid, moderated by trade winds	mostly temperate; arid in southeast; subantarctic in southwest
Coastline	698 km	4,989 km
Constitution	-	1 May 1853; revised August 1994
Country name	conventional long form: British Indian Ocean Territory conventional short form: none abbreviation: BIOT	conventional long form: Argentine Republic conventional short form: Argentina local long form: Republica Argentina local short form: Argentina
Currency	-	Argentine peso (ARS)
Death rate	-	7.57 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Debt - external	-	$155 billion (2001 est.)
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 James D. WALSH embassy: Avenida Colombia 4300, C1425GMN Buenos Aires mailing address: international mail: use street address; APO address: Unit 4334, APO AA 34034 telephone: [54] (11) 5777-4533 FAX: [54] (11) 5777-4240
Diplomatic representation in the US	none (overseas territory of the UK)	chief of mission: Ambassador Eduardo AMADEO chancery: 1600 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 238-6400 FAX: [1] (202) 332-3171 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, 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	claims UK-administered Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas); claims UK-administered South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands; territorial claim in Antarctica partially overlaps British and Chilean claims
Economic aid - recipient	-	$10 billion (2001 est.)
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.	Argentina benefits from rich natural resources, a highly literate population, an export-oriented agricultural sector, and a diversified industrial base. Over the past decade, however, the country has suffered recurring economic problems of inflation, hugh external debt, capital flight, and budget deficits. Growth in 2000 was a negative 0.5%, as both domestic and foreign investors remained skeptical of the government's ability to pay debts and maintain the peso's fixed exchange rate with the US dollar. The economic situation worsened in 2001 with the widening of spreads on Argentine bonds, massive withdrawals from the banks, and a further decline in consumer and investor confidence. Government efforts to achieve a "zero deficit", to stabilize the banking system, and to restore economic growth proved inadequate in the face of the mounting economic problems. The peso's peg to the dollar was abandoned in January 2002, and the peso was floated in February; the exchange rate plunged and inflation picked up rapidly, but by mid-2002 the economy had stabilized, albeit at a lower level. Output was 14.7% below the previous year's figure, and unemployment remained high, at 21.5%. In order to reverse the crisis some economists recently have advocated that Argentina adopt the US dollar as the national currency, however, others argue tieing the economy closely to the dollar was precisely what led to Argentina's current problems.
Electricity - consumption	NA kWh	80.806 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports	-	3.7 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports	-	7.5 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production	NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by the US military	82.802 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source	-	fossil fuel: 52% hydro: 41% nuclear: 7% other: 0% (2000)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location on Diego Garcia 15 m	lowest point: Salinas Chicas -40 m (located on Peninsula Valdes) highest point: Cerro Aconcagua 6,960 m
Environment - current issues	NA	environmental problems (urban and rural) typical of an industrializing economy such as deforestation, soil degradation, desertification, air pollution, and water pollution note: Argentina is a world leader in setting voluntary greenhouse gas targets
Environment - international agreements	-	party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation
Ethnic groups	-	white (mostly Spanish and Italian) 97%, mestizo, Amerindian, or other nonwhite groups 3%
Exchange rates	-	Argentine pesos per US dollar - 1.33325 (January 2002), 1.000 (1997-2001); note - fixed rate pegged to the US dollar was abandoned in January 2002; peso now floats
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 Eduardo Alberto DUHALDE (since 2 January 2002); note - selected by National Congress in aftermath of resignation of former President DE LA RUA on 20 December 2001 and resignations of others who briefly held the office following DE LA RUA's departure; Vice President Carlos "Chacho" ALVAREZ resigned 6 October 2000 and the post remains vacant; note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Eduardo Alberto DUHALDE (since 2 January 2002); note - selected by National Congress in aftermath of resignation of former President DE LA RUA on 20 December 2001 and resignations of others who briefly held the office following DE LA RUA's departure; Vice President Carlos "Chacho" ALVAREZ resigned 6 October 2000 and the post remains vacant; note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms; election last held 24 October 1999 (next to be held NA October 2003) election results: Fernando DE LA RUA elected president; percent of vote - 48.5% ; Vice President Carlos "Chacho" ALVAREZ resigned 6 October 2000 and a replacement was not named; DE LA RUA resigned 20 December 2001; following a series of interim presidents, Eduardo Alberto DUHALDE was selected president by the National Congress on 1 January 2002
Exports	-	$26.7 billion f.o.b. (2001)
Exports - commodities	-	edible oils, fuels and energy, cereals, feed, motor vehicles
Exports - partners	-	Brazil 26.5%, US 11.8%, Chile 10.6%, Spain 3.5% (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	three equal horizontal bands of light blue (top), white, and light blue; centered in the white band is a radiant yellow sun with a human face known as the Sun of May
GDP	-	purchasing power parity - $391 billion (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector	-	agriculture: 5% industry: 28% services: 66% (2000 est.)
GDP - per capita	-	purchasing power parity - $10,200 (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	-	-14.7% (2002 est.)
Geographic coordinates	6 00 S, 71 30 E	34 00 S, 64 00 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	second-largest country in South America (after Brazil); strategic location relative to sea lanes between the South Atlantic and the South Pacific Oceans (Strait of Magellan, Beagle Channel, Drake Passage); Cerro Aconcagua is South America's tallest mountain, while the Valdes Peninsula is the lowest point on the continent
Highways	total: NA km paved: short section of paved road between port and airfield on Diego Garcia unpaved: NA km	total: 215,434 km paved: 63,553 km (including 734 km of expressways) unpaved: 151,881 km (1998 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	-	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
Illicit drugs	-	used as a transshipment country for cocaine headed for Europe and the US; some money-laundering activity, especially in the Tri-Border Area; domestic consumption of drugs in urban centers is increasing
Imports	-	$20.3 billion f.o.b. (2001)
Imports - commodities	-	machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, chemicals, metal manufactures, plastics
Imports - partners	-	Brazil 25.1%, US 18.7%, Germany 5%, China 4.6% (2000)
Independence	-	9 July 1816 (from Spain)
Industrial production growth rate	-	1% (2000 est.)
Industries	-	food processing, motor vehicles, consumer durables, textiles, chemicals and petrochemicals, printing, metallurgy, steel
Infant mortality rate	-	17.2 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	-	4% (2001 est.)
International organization participation	-	AfDB, Australia Group, BCIE, BIS, CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-6, G-15, G-19, G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur, MINURSO, MIPONUH, MTCR, NSG, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNMOVIC, UNTSO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)	1 (2000)	33 (2000)
Irrigated land	0 sq km (1998 est.)	15,610 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch	-	Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (the nine Supreme Court judges are appointed by the president with approval by the Senate)
Labor force	-	15 million (1999)
Labor force - by occupation	-	agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA%
Land boundaries	0 km	total: 9,665 km border countries: Bolivia 832 km, Brazil 1,224 km, Chile 5,150 km, Paraguay 1,880 km, Uruguay 579 km
Land use	arable land: NEGL permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (1998 est.)	arable land: 9.14% permanent crops: 0.8% other: 90.06% (1998 est.)
Languages	-	Spanish (official), English, Italian, German, French
Legal system	the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply	mixture of US and West European legal systems; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch	-	bicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional consists of the Senate (72 seats; formerly, three members appointed by each of the provincial legislatures; presently transitioning to one-third of the members being elected every two years to six-year terms) and the Chamber of Deputies (257 seats; one-half of the members elected every two years to four-year terms) elections: Senate - last held 14 October 2001 (next to be held NA October 2003); Chamber of Deputies - last held 14 October 2001 (next to be held NA October 2003) election results: Senate - percent of vote by bloc or party - NA%; seats by bloc or party - Justicialist (Peronist) 40, UCR 24, provincial parties 6, Frepaso 1, ARI 1; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by bloc or party - NA%; seats by bloc or party - Justicialist (Peronist) 113, UCR 74, provincial parties 27, Frepaso 17, ARI 17, AR 9
Life expectancy at birth	-	total population: 75.48 years male: 72.1 years female: 79.03 years (2002 est.)
Literacy	-	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 96.2% male: 96.2% female: 96.2% (1995 est.)
Location	archipelago in the Indian Ocean, south of India, about one-half the way from Africa to Indonesia	Southern South America, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Chile and Uruguay
Map references	Political Map of the World	South America
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: 24 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 147,505 GRT/222,500 DWT ships by type: cargo 9, petroleum tanker 10, railcar carrier 1, refrigerated cargo 2, roll on/roll off 1, short-sea passenger 1, includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: United Arab Emirates 1, Uruguay 1 (2002 est.)
Military - note	defense is the responsibility of the UK; the US lease on Diego Garcia expires in 2016	-
Military branches	-	Argentine Army, Navy of the Argentine Republic (includes naval aviation and Marines), Coast Guard, Argentine Air Force, National Gendarmerie, National Aeronautical Police Force
Military expenditures - dollar figure	-	$4.3 billion (FY99)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	-	1.3% (FY00)
Military manpower - availability	-	males age 15-49: 9,521,633 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service	-	males age 15-49: 7,721,219 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - military age	-	20 years of age (2002 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually	-	males: 335,085 (2002 est.)
National holiday	-	Revolution Day, 25 May (1810)
Nationality	-	noun: Argentine(s) adjective: Argentine
Natural hazards	NA	San Miguel de Tucuman and Mendoza areas in the Andes subject to earthquakes; pamperos are violent windstorms that can strike the Pampas and northeast; heavy flooding
Natural resources	coconuts, fish, sugarcane	fertile plains of the Pampas, lead, zinc, tin, copper, iron ore, manganese, petroleum, uranium
Net migration rate	-	0.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Pipelines	-	crude oil 4,090 km; petroleum products 2,900 km; natural gas 9,918 km
Political parties and leaders	-	Action for the Republic or AR [Domingo CAVALLO]; Alternative for a Republic of Equals or ARI [Elisa CARRIO]; Front for a Country in Solidarity or Frepaso (a four-party coalition) [Dario Pedro ALESSANDRO]; Justicialist Party or PJ [Carlos Saul MENEM] (Peronist umbrella political organization); Radical Civic Union or UCR [Angel ROZAS]; several provincial parties
Political pressure groups and leaders	-	Argentine Association of Pharmaceutical Labs (CILFA); Argentine Industrial Union (manufacturers' association); Argentine Rural Society (large landowners' association); business organizations; General Confederation of Labor or CGT (Peronist-leaning umbrella labor organization); Peronist-dominated labor movement; Roman Catholic Church; students
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 in the 1960's and 1970's, in November 2000 they were granted the right of return by a British High Court ruling, though no timetable has been set; 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 2003 est.)	37,812,817 (July 2002 est.)
Population below poverty line	-	37% (2001 est.)
Population growth rate	-	1.13% (2002 est.)
Ports and harbors	Diego Garcia	Bahia Blanca, Buenos Aires, Comodoro Rivadavia, Concepcion del Uruguay, La Plata, Mar del Plata, Necochea, Rio Gallegos, Rosario, Santa Fe, Ushuaia
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998)	AM 260 (including 10 inactive stations), FM NA (probably more than 1,000, mostly unlicensed), shortwave 6 (1998)
Radios	-	24.3 million (1997)
Railways	-	total: 33,744 km (167 km electrified) broad gauge: 20,594 km 1.676-m gauge (141 km electrified) standard gauge: 2,739 km 1.435-m gauge (26 km electrified) narrow gauge: 10,154 km 1.000-m gauge; 257 km 0.750-m gauge (2000 est.)
Religions	-	nominally Roman Catholic 92% (less than 20% practicing), Protestant 2%, Jewish 2%, other 4%
Sex ratio	-	at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Suffrage	-	18 years of age; universal and mandatory
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: by opening the telecommunications market to competition and foreign investment with the "Telecommunications Liberalization Plan of 1998", Argentina encouraged the growth of modern telecommunication technology; fiber-optic cable trunk lines are being installed between all major cities; the major networks are entirely digital and the availability of telephone service is being improved; however, telephone density is presently minimal, and making telephone service universally available will take some time domestic: microwave radio relay, fiber-optic cable, and a domestic satellite system with 40 earth stations serve the trunk network; more than 110,000 pay telephones are installed and mobile telephone use is rapidly expanding international: satellite earth stations - 8 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); Atlantis II and Unisur submarine cables; two international gateways near Buenos Aires (1999)
Telephones - main lines in use	NA	7.5 million (1998)
Telephones - mobile cellular	-	3 million (December 1999)
Television broadcast stations	1 (1997)	42 (plus 444 repeaters) (1997)
Terrain	flat and low (most areas do not exceed four meters in elevation)	rich plains of the Pampas in northern half, flat to rolling plateau of Patagonia in south, rugged Andes along western border
Total fertility rate	-	2.41 children born/woman (2002 est.)
Unemployment rate	-	25% (yearend 2001)
Waterways	none	10,950 km

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