Compare British Indian Ocean Territory (2004) - Equatorial Guinea (2004)

Compare British Indian Ocean Territory (2004) z Equatorial Guinea (2004)

	British Indian Ocean Territory (2004)	Equatorial Guinea (2004)

Administrative divisions	-	7 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Annobon, Bioko Norte, Bioko Sur, Centro Sur, Kie-Ntem, Litoral, Wele-Nzas
Age structure	-	0-14 years: 42% (male 110,268; female 109,222) 15-64 years: 54.3% (male 136,370; female 147,431) 65 years and over: 3.8% (male 8,745; female 11,015) (2004 est.)
Agriculture - products	-	coffee, cocoa, rice, yams, cassava (tapioca), bananas, palm oil nuts; livestock; timber
Airports	1 (2003 est.)	3 (2003 est.)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2004 est.)	total: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 less than 914 m: 1 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways	-	total: 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: 28,051 sq km land: 28,051 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative	about 0.3 times the size of Washington, DC	slightly smaller than Maryland
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.	Equatorial Guinea gained independence in 1968 after 190 years of Spanish rule. This tiny country, composed of a mainland portion plus five inhabited islands, is one of the smallest on the African continent. President OBIANG NGUEM MBASOGO has ruled the country for over two decades since seizing power from his uncle, then President MACIAS, in a 1979 coup. Although nominally a constitutional democracy since 1991, the 1996 and 2002 presidential elections - as well as the 1999 legislative elections - were widely seen as being flawed. The president controls most opposition parties through the judicious use of patronage. Despite the country's economic windfall from oil production resulting in a massive increase in government revenue in recent years, there have been few improvements in the country's living standards.
Birth rate	-	36.56 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Budget	-	revenues: $708.5 million expenditures: $317.6 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.)
Capital	-	Malabo
Climate	tropical marine; hot, humid, moderated by trade winds	tropical; always hot, humid
Coastline	698 km	296 km
Constitution	-	approved by national referendum 17 November 1991; amended January 1995
Country name	conventional long form: British Indian Ocean Territory conventional short form: none abbreviation: BIOT	conventional long form: Republic of Equatorial Guinea conventional short form: Equatorial Guinea local long form: Republica de Guinea Ecuatorial local short form: Guinea Ecuatorial former: Spanish Guinea
Currency	-	Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible authority is the Bank of the Central African States
Death rate	-	12.27 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Debt - external	-	$248 million (2000 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)	the US does not have an embassy in Equatorial Guinea (embassy closed September 1995); the US ambassador to Cameroon is accredited to Equatorial Guinea; the US State Department is considering opening a Consulate Agency in Malabo
Diplomatic representation in the US	none (overseas territory of the UK)	chief of mission: Ambassador Teodoro Biyogo NSUE chancery: 2020 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 518-5700 FAX: [1] (202) 518-5252
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; the UK resists the Chagossians' demand for an immediate return to the islands; repatriation is complicated by the exclusive US military lease of Diego Garcia that restricted access to the largest island in the chain	in 2002, ICJ ruled on an equidistance settlement of Cameroon-Equatorial Guinea-Nigeria maritime boundary in the Gulf of Guinea, but a dispute between Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon over an island at the mouth of the Ntem River, imprecisely defined coordinates in the ICJ decision, and the unresolved Bakasi allocation contribute to the delay in implementation; creation of a maritime boundary in hydrocarbon-rich Corisco Bay with Gabon is hampered by dispute over Mbane Island, administered and occupied by Gabon since the 1970s
Economic aid - recipient	-	$33.8 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.	The discovery and exploitation of large oil reserves have contributed to dramatic economic growth in recent years. Forestry, farming, and fishing are also major components of GDP. Subsistence farming predominates. Although pre-independence Equatorial Guinea counted on cocoa production for hard currency earnings, the neglect of the rural economy under successive regimes has diminished potential for agriculture-led growth (the government has stated its intention to reinvest some oil revenue into agriculture). A number of aid programs sponsored by the World Bank and the IMF have been cut off since 1993 because of corruption and mismanagement. No longer eligible for concessional financing because of large oil revenues, the government has been unsuccessfully trying to agree on a "shadow" fiscal management program with the World Bank and IMF. Businesses, for the most part, are owned by government officials and their family members. Undeveloped natural resources include titanium, iron ore, manganese, uranium, and alluvial gold. Growth will remain strong in 2004, led by oil.
Electricity - consumption	NA kWh	21.91 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports	-	0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports	-	0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - production	NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by the US military	23.56 million kWh (2001)
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: Pico Basile 3,008 m
Environment - current issues	NA	tap water is not potable; deforestation
Environment - international agreements	-	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ship Pollution signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Ethnic groups	-	Bioko (primarily Bubi, some Fernandinos), Rio Muni (primarily Fang), Europeans less than 1,000, mostly Spanish
Exchange rates	-	Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 581.2 (2003), 696.988 (2002), 733.039 (2001), 711.976 (2000), 615.699 (1999)
Executive branch	chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952) head of government: Commissioner Tony CROMBIE (since January 2004); Administrator Charles A. HAMILTON (since 2002); 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 Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO (since 3 August 1979 when he seized power in a military coup) head of government: Prime Minister Miguel Abia BITEO BORICO (since 14 June 2004); First Deputy Prime Minister Miguel OYONO NDONG (since NA January 1998); Deputy Prime Minister Demetrio Elo NDONG NZE FUMU (since NA January 1998) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; election last held 15 December 2002 (next to be held NA December 2009); prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president election results: Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO reelected president; percent of vote - Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO 97.1%, Celestino Bonifacio BACALE 2.2%; elections marred by widespread fraud
Exports	-	NA (2001)
Exports - commodities	-	petroleum, methanol, timber, cocoa
Exports - partners	-	US 33.6%, Spain 25.8%, China 14.4%, Canada 11.8%, Italy 6.4% (2003)
Fiscal year	-	1 January - 31 December
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 green (top), white, and red with a blue isosceles triangle based on the hoist side and the coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat of arms has six yellow six-pointed stars (representing the mainland and five offshore islands) above a gray shield bearing a silk-cotton tree and below which is a scroll with the motto UNIDAD, PAZ, JUSTICIA (Unity, Peace, Justice)
GDP	-	purchasing power parity - $1.27 billion (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector	-	agriculture: 20% industry: 60% services: 2.4% (2003 est.)
GDP - per capita	-	purchasing power parity - $2,700 (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	-	20% (2002 est.)
Geographic coordinates	6 00 S, 71 30 E	2 00 N, 10 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	insular and continental regions rather widely separated
Highways	total: NA km paved: short section of paved road between port and airfield on Diego Garcia unpaved: NA km	total: 2,880 km (1999 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	-	lowest 10%: NA highest 10%: NA
Imports	-	NA (2001)
Imports - commodities	-	petroleum sector equipment, other equipment
Imports - partners	-	US 30.6%, UK 16%, France 15.1%, Cote d'Ivoire 11.9%, Spain 8.1%, Norway 5.9%, Italy 5.3% (2003)
Independence	-	12 October 1968 (from Spain)
Industrial production growth rate	-	30% (2002 est.)
Industries	-	petroleum, fishing, sawmilling, natural gas
Infant mortality rate	-	total: 87.08 deaths/1,000 live births male: 93.27 deaths/1,000 live births female: 80.71 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	-	6% (2003 est.)
International organization participation	-	ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, BDEAC, CEMAC, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OAS (observer), OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WToO, WTrO (observer)
Irrigated land	0 sq km (1998 est.)	NA sq km
Judicial branch	-	Supreme Tribunal
Labor force	-	NA (October 2000)
Land boundaries	0 km	total: 539 km border countries: Cameroon 189 km, Gabon 350 km
Land use	arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2001)	arable land: 4.63% permanent crops: 3.57% other: 91.8% (2001)
Languages	-	Spanish (official), French (official), pidgin English, Fang, Bubi, Ibo
Legal system	the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply	partly based on Spanish civil law and tribal custom
Legislative branch	-	unicameral House of People's Representatives or Camara de Representantes del Pueblo (80 seats; members directly elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 7 March 1999 (next to be held 24 April 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - PDGE 80%, UP 6%, CPDS 5%; seats by party - PDGE 75, UP 4 and CPDS 1 note: Parliament has little power since the constitution vests all executive authority in the president
Life expectancy at birth	-	total population: 55.15 years male: 53 years female: 57.36 years (2004 est.)
Literacy	-	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 85.7% male: 93.3% female: 78.4% (2003 est.)
Location	archipelago in the Indian Ocean, south of India, about one-half the way from Africa to Indonesia	Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Biafra, between Cameroon and Gabon
Map references	Political Map of the World	Africa
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 3 nm exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Merchant marine	-	total: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 6,556 GRT/9,704 DWT by type: cargo 2, passenger/cargo 1 registered in other countries: 1 (2004 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, Rapid Intervention Force
Military expenditures - dollar figure	-	$75.1 million (2003)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	-	2.5% (2003)
Military manpower - availability	-	males age 15-49: 120,463 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service	-	males age 15-49: 61,084 (2004 est.)
National holiday	-	Independence Day, 12 October (1968)
Nationality	-	noun: Equatorial Guinean(s) or Equatoguinean(s) adjective: Equatorial Guinean or Equatoguinean
Natural hazards	NA	violent windstorms, flash floods
Natural resources	coconuts, fish, sugarcane	oil, petroleum, timber, small unexploited deposits of gold, manganese, uranium, titanium, iron ore
Net migration rate	-	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Pipelines	-	condensate 37 km; gas 39 km; liquid natural gas 4 km; oil 24 km (2004)
Political parties and leaders	-	Convergence Party for Social Democracy or CPDS [Placido MIKO Abogo]; Democratic Party for Equatorial Guinea or PDGE (ruling party) [Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO]; Party for Progress of Equatorial Guinea or PPGE [Severo MOTO]; Popular Action of Equatorial Guinea or APGE [Miguel Esono EMAN]; Popular Union or UP [Andres Moises Bda ADA]; Progressive Democratic Alliance or ADP [Victorino Bolekia BONAY]; Union of Independent Democrats of UDI [Daniel OYONO]
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 in the 1960s and 1970s, 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 2004 est.)	523,051 (July 2004 est.)
Population below poverty line	-	NA
Population growth rate	-	2.43% (2004 est.)
Ports and harbors	Diego Garcia	Bata, Luba, Malabo
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998)	AM 0, FM 3, shortwave 5 (2002)
Religions	-	nominally Christian and predominantly Roman Catholic, pagan practices
Sex ratio	-	at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2004 est.)
Suffrage	-	18 years of age; universal adult
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: poor system with adequate government services domestic: NA international: country code - 240; international communications from Bata and Malabo to African and European countries; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean)
Telephones - main lines in use	NA	9,600 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular	-	41,500 (2003)
Television broadcast stations	1 (1997)	1 (2002)
Terrain	flat and low (most areas do not exceed four meters in elevation)	coastal plains rise to interior hills; islands are volcanic
Total fertility rate	-	4.68 children born/woman (2004 est.)
Unemployment rate	-	30% (1998 est.)

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