Compare British Indian Ocean Territory (2006) - Nicaragua (2004)

Compare British Indian Ocean Territory (2006) z Nicaragua (2004)

	British Indian Ocean Territory (2006)	Nicaragua (2004)

Administrative divisions	-	15 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento) and 2 autonomous regions* (regiones autonomistas, singular - region autonomista); Atlantico Norte, Atlantico Sur, Boaco, Carazo, Chinandega, Chontales, Esteli, Granada, Jinotega, Leon, Madriz, Managua, Masaya, Matagalpa, Nueva Segovia, Rio San Juan, Rivas
Age structure	-	0-14 years: 38.1% (male 1,038,887; female 1,001,518) 15-64 years: 58.9% (male 1,570,494; female 1,586,706) 65 years and over: 3% (male 71,125; female 91,029) (2004 est.)
Agriculture - products	-	coffee, bananas, sugarcane, cotton, rice, corn, tobacco, sesame, soya, beans; beef, veal, pork, poultry, dairy products
Airports	1 (2006)	176 (2003 est.)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2006)	total: 11 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 3 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways	-	total: 165 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 23 under 914 m: 141 (2004 est.)
Area	total: 54,400 sq km land: 60 sq km; Diego Garcia 44 sq km water: 54,340 sq km note: includes the entire Chagos Archipelago of 55 islands	total: 129,494 sq km land: 120,254 sq km water: 9,240 sq km
Area - comparative	land area is about 0.3 times the size of Washington, DC	slightly smaller than the state of New York
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.	The Pacific Coast of Nicaragua was settled as a Spanish colony from Panama in the early 16th century. Independence from Spain was declared in 1821 and the country became an independent republic in 1838. Britain occupied the Caribbean Coast in the first half of the 19th century, but gradually ceded control of the region in subsequent decades. Violent opposition to governmental manipulation and corruption spread to all classes by 1978 and resulted in a short-lived civil war that brought the Marxist Sandinista guerrillas to power in 1979. Nicaraguan aid to leftist rebels in El Salvador caused the US to sponsor anti-Sandinista contra guerrillas through much of the 1980s. Free elections in 1990, 1996, and again in 2001 saw the Sandinistas defeated. The country has slowly rebuilt its economy during the 1990s, but was hard hit by Hurricane Mitch in 1998.
Birth rate	-	25.5 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Budget	-	revenues: $672.5 million expenditures: $954.9 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2003 est.)
Capital	-	Managua
Climate	tropical marine; hot, humid, moderated by trade winds	tropical in lowlands, cooler in highlands
Coastline	698 km	910 km
Constitution	-	9 January 1987, with reforms in 1995 and 2000
Country name	conventional long form: British Indian Ocean Territory conventional short form: none abbreviation: BIOT	conventional long form: Republic of Nicaragua conventional short form: Nicaragua local long form: Republica de Nicaragua local short form: Nicaragua
Currency	-	gold cordoba (NIO)
Death rate	-	4.54 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Debt - external	-	$5.833 billion (2003 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 Barbara Calandra MOORE embassy: Kilometer 4.5 Carretera Sur, Managua mailing address: APO AA 34021 telephone: [505] 266-6010 FAX: [505] 266-9074
Diplomatic representation in the US	none (overseas territory of the UK)	chief of mission: Ambassador Salvador STADTHAGEN (since 5 December 2003) chancery: 1627 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 939-6570, [1] (202) 939-6573 FAX: [1] (202) 939-6545 consulate(s) general: Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco
Disputes - international	Mauritius and Seychelles claim the Chagos Archipelago including Diego Garcia; in 2001 the former inhabitants of the Chagos Archipelago, evicted in 1965 and now residing chiefly in Mauritius, were granted UK citizenship and the right to repatriation; 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 restricts access to the largest island in the chain;	territorial disputes with Colombia over the Archipelago de San Andres y Providencia and Quita Sueno Bank region; the 1992 ICJ ruling for El Salvador and Honduras advised a tripartite resolution to establish a maritime boundary in the Gulf of Fonseca, which considers Honduran access to the Pacific; legal dispute over navigational rights of San Juan River on border with Costa Rica
Economic aid - recipient	-	Substantial foreign support (2001)
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 country makes money by selling fishing licenses and postage stamps.	Nicaragua, one of the hemisphere's poorest countries, faces low per capita income, massive unemployment, and huge external debt. Distribution of income is one of the most unequal on the globe. While the country has made progress toward macroeconomic stability over the past few years, GDP annual growth of 1.5% - 2.5% has been far too low to meet the country's need. Nicaragua will continue to be dependent on international aid and debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. Nicaragua has undertaken significant economic reforms that are expected to help the country qualify for more than $4 billion in debt relief under HIPC in early 2004. Donors have made aid conditional on the openness of government financial operation, poverty alleviation, and human rights. A three-year poverty reduction and growth plan, agreed to with the IMF in December 2002, guides economic policy.
Electricity - consumption	NA kWh	2.388 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports	-	0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports	-	17 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - production	NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by the US military	2.549 billion kWh (2001)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location on Diego Garcia 15 m	lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Mogoton 2,438 m
Environment - current issues	NA	deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution
Environment - international agreements	-	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification
Ethnic groups	-	mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 69%, white 17%, black 9%, Amerindian 5%
Exchange rates	-	gold cordobas per US dollar - 14.2513 (2003), 14.2513 (2002), 13.3719 (2001), 12.6844 (2000), 11.8092 (1999)
Executive branch	chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952) head of government: Commissioner Tony CROMBIE (since January 2004); Administrator Tony HUMPHRIES (since February 2005); 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 Enrique BOLANOS Geyer (since 10 January 2002); Vice President Jose RIZO Castellon (since 10 January 2002); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government head of government: President Enrique BOLANOS Geyer (since 10 January 2002); Vice President Jose RIZO Castellon (since 10 January 2002); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 4 November 2001 (next to be held by November 2006) election results: Enrique BOLANOS Geyer (PLC) elected president - 56.3%, Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra (FSLN) 42.3%, Alberto SABORIO (PCN) 1.4%; Jose RIZO Castellon elected vice president
Exports	-	NA (2001)
Exports - commodities	-	coffee, shrimp and lobster, cotton, tobacco, bananas, beef, sugar, gold
Exports - partners	-	US 35.9%, El Salvador 17.2%, Costa Rica 8.1%, Honduras 7.3%, Mexico 4.6%, Guatemala 4.3% (2003)
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 blue (top), white, and blue with the national coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat of arms features a triangle encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA on the top and AMERICA CENTRAL on the bottom; similar to the flag of El Salvador, which features a round emblem encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE EL SALVADOR EN LA AMERICA CENTRAL centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Honduras, which has five blue stars arranged in an X pattern centered in the white band
GDP	-	purchasing power parity - $11.6 billion (2003 est.)
GDP - composition by sector	-	agriculture: 28.9% industry: 25.4% services: 45.7% (2003 est.)
GDP - per capita	-	purchasing power parity - $2,300 (2003 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	-	2.3% (2003 est.)
Geographic coordinates	6 00 S, 71 30 E; note - Diego Garcia 7 20 S, 72 25 E	13 00 N, 85 00 W
Geography - note	archipelago of 55 islands; Diego Garcia, largest and southernmost island, occupies strategic location in central Indian Ocean; island is site of joint US-UK military facility	largest country in Central America; contains the largest freshwater body in Central America, Lago de Nicaragua
Highways	-	total: 19,032 km paved: 2,094 km unpaved: 16,938 km (2000)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	-	lowest 10%: 0.7% highest 10%: 48.8% (1998)
Illicit drugs	-	transshipment point for cocaine destined for the US and transshipment point for arms-for-drugs dealing
Imports	-	NA (2001)
Imports - commodities	-	machinery and equipment, raw materials, petroleum products, consumer goods
Imports - partners	-	US 24.9%, Venezuela 9.7%, Costa Rica 9%, Mexico 8.4%, Guatemala 7.3%, El Salvador 4.9%, Japan 4.3% (2003)
Independence	-	15 September 1821 (from Spain)
Industrial production growth rate	-	4.4% (2000 est.)
Industries	-	food processing, chemicals, machinery and metal products, textiles, clothing, petroleum refining and distribution, beverages, footwear, wood
Infant mortality rate	-	total: 30.15 deaths/1,000 live births male: 33.73 deaths/1,000 live births female: 26.38 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	-	5.3% (2003 est.)
International organization participation	-	BCIE, CACM, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO
Irrigated land	0 sq km	880 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch	-	Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (16 judges elected for five-year terms by the National Assembly)
Labor force	-	1.91 million (2003)
Labor force - by occupation	-	agriculture 42%, industry 15%, services 43% (1999 est.)
Land boundaries	0 km	total: 1,231 km border countries: Costa Rica 309 km, Honduras 922 km
Land use	arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005)	arable land: 15.94% permanent crops: 1.94% other: 82.12% (2001)
Languages	-	Spanish (official) note: English and indigenous languages on Atlantic coast
Legal system	the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply	civil law system; Supreme Court may review administrative acts
Legislative branch	-	unicameral National Assembly or Asamblea Nacional (92 seats; members are elected by proportional representation and party lists to serve five-year terms; one seat for previous President, one seat for runner-up in previous Presidential election elections: last held 4 November 2001 (next to be held by November 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - Liberal Alliance (ruling party - includes PCCN, PLC, PALI, PLIUN, and PUCA) 46.03%, FSLN 36.55%, PCN 2.12%; seats by party - Liberal Alliance 53, FSLN 38, PCN 1
Life expectancy at birth	-	total population: 70.02 years male: 67.99 years female: 72.16 years (2004 est.)
Literacy	-	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 67.5% male: 67.2% female: 67.8% (2003 est.)
Location	archipelago in the Indian Ocean, south of India, about one-half the way from Africa to Indonesia	Central America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Costa Rica and Honduras
Map references	Political Map of the World	Central America and the Caribbean
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 3 nm exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm	territorial sea: 200 nm continental shelf: natural prolongation
Merchant marine	-	none
Military - note	defense is the responsibility of the UK; the US lease on Diego Garcia expires in 2016	-
Military branches	-	Army (includes Navy), Navy
Military expenditures - dollar figure	-	$30.8 million (2003)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	-	1.2% (2003)
Military manpower - availability	-	males age 15-49: 1,399,356 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service	-	males age 15-49: 858,022 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually	-	males: 61,869 (2004 est.)
National holiday	-	Independence Day, 15 September (1821)
Nationality	-	noun: Nicaraguan(s) adjective: Nicaraguan
Natural hazards	NA	destructive earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides; extremely susceptible to hurricanes
Natural resources	coconuts, fish, sugarcane	gold, silver, copper, tungsten, lead, zinc, timber, fish
Net migration rate	-	-1.22 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Pipelines	-	oil 54 km (2004)
Political parties and leaders	-	Conservative Party of Nicaragua or PCN [Mario RAPPACCIOLI]; Independent Liberal Party or PLI [Anibal MARTINEZ Nunez, Pedro REYES Vallejos]; Nicaraguan Party of the Christian Path or PCCN [Guillermo OSORNO Molina]; Nicaraguan Resistance Party or PRN [Salvador TALAVERA]; Sandinista National Liberation Front or FSLN [Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra]; Sandinista Renovation Movement or MRS [leader NA]; Unity Alliance or AU [leader NA]; Liberal Constitutional Party or PLC [Jorge CASTILLO Quant]; Alliance for the Republic or APRE [Miguel LOPEZ Baldizon, Oscar WENDOLYN Vargas, Karla WHITE]; Liberal Salvation Movement or MSL [Eliseo NUNEZ Hernandez]; Christian Alternative Party or AC [Orlando TARDENCILLA Espinoza]
Political pressure groups and leaders	-	National Workers Front or FNT is a Sandinista umbrella group of eight labor unions including - Farm Workers Association or ATC, Health Workers Federation or FETASALUD, Heroes and Martyrs Confederation of Professional Associations or CONAPRO, National Association of Educators of Nicaragua or ANDEN, National Union of Employees or UNE, National Union of Farmers and Ranchers or UNAG, Sandinista Workers Central or CST, and Union of Journalists of Nicaragua or UPN; Permanent Congress of Workers or CPT is an umbrella group of four non-Sandinista labor unions including - Autonomous Nicaraguan Workers Central or CTN-A, Confederation of Labor Unification or CUS, Independent General Confederation of Labor or CGT-I, and Labor Action and Unity Central or CAUS; Nicaraguan Workers' Central or CTN is an independent labor union; Superior Council of Private Enterprise or COSEP is a confederation of business 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 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 November 2004, there were approximately 4,000 UK and US military personnel and civilian contractors living on the island of Diego Garcia (July 2006 est.)	5,359,759 (July 2004 est.)
Population below poverty line	-	50% (2001 est.)
Population growth rate	-	1.97% (2004 est.)
Ports and harbors	-	Bluefields, Corinto, El Bluff, Puerto Cabezas, Puerto Sandino, Rama, San Juan del Sur
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998)	AM 63, FM 32, shortwave 1 (1998)
Railways	-	total: 6 km narrow gauge: 6 km 1.067-m gauge (2003)
Religions	-	Roman Catholic 85%, Protestant
Sex ratio	-	at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2004 est.)
Suffrage	-	16 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: inadequate system being upgraded by foreign investment domestic: low-capacity microwave radio relay and wire system being expanded; connected to Central American Microwave System international: country code - 505; satellite earth stations - 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region) and 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Telephones - main lines in use	NA	171,600 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular	-	202,800 (2002)
Television broadcast stations	1 (1997)	3 (plus seven low-power repeaters) (1997)
Terrain	flat and low (most areas do not exceed two meters in elevation)	extensive Atlantic coastal plains rising to central interior mountains; narrow Pacific coastal plain interrupted by volcanoes
Total fertility rate	-	2.89 children born/woman (2004 est.)
Unemployment rate	-	22% plus considerable underemployment (2003 est.)
Waterways	-	2,220 km (including lakes Managua and Nicaragua) (1997)

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