Compare British Indian Ocean Territory (2006) - Saint Martin (2007)

Compare British Indian Ocean Territory (2006) z Saint Martin (2007)

	British Indian Ocean Territory (2006)	Saint Martin (2007)

Airports	1 (2006)	1
Airports - with paved runways	total: 1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2006)	total: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1
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: 54.4 sq km land: 54.4 sq km water: NEGL
Area - comparative	land area is about 0.3 times the size of Washington, DC	more than one-third the size of Washington, DC
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.	Although sighted by Christopher COLUMBUS in 1493 and claimed for Spain, it was the Dutch who occupied the island in 1631 and set about exploiting its salt deposits. The Spanish retook the island in 1633, but continued to be harassed by the Dutch. The Spanish finally relinquished St. Martin to the French and Dutch, who divided it amongst themselves in 1648. The cultivation of sugar cane introduced slavery to the island in the late 18th century; the practice was not abolished until 1848. The island became a free port in 1939; the tourism industry was dramatically expanded during the 1970s and 1980s. In 2003, the populace of St. Martin voted to secede from Guadeloupe and in 2007, the northern portion of the island became a French overseas collectivity.
Capital	-	name: Marigot geographical coordinates: 18 04 N, 63 05 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour behind Washington, DC, during Standard Time) daylight savings: +1 hour
Climate	tropical marine; hot, humid, moderated by trade winds	temperature averages 80-85 degrees all year long; low humidity, gentle trade winds, brief, intense rain showers; July-Novemeber is the hurricane season
Coastline	698 km	58.9 km (for entire island)
Constitution	-	4 October 1958 (French Constitution)
Country name	conventional long form: British Indian Ocean Territory conventional short form: none abbreviation: BIOT	conventional long form: Overseas Collectivity of Saint Martin conventional short form: Saint Martin local long form: Collectivity d'outre mer de Saint-Martin local short form: Saint-Martin
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)	none (overseas collectivity of France)
Diplomatic representation in the US	none (overseas territory of the UK)	none (overseas collectivity of France)
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;	-
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.	The economy of Saint Martin centers around tourism with 85% of the labor force engaged in this sector. Over one million visitors come to the island each year with most arriving through the Princess Juliana International Airport in Sint Maarten. No significant agriculture and limited local fishing means that almost all food must be imported. Energy resources and manufactured goods are also imported, primarily from Mexico and the United States. Saint Martin is reported to have the highest per capita income in the Caribbean.
Electricity - consumption	NA kWh	-
Electricity - production	NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by the US military	-
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location on Diego Garcia 15 m	lowest point: Caribbean Ocean 0 m highest point: Pic du Paradis 424 m
Environment - current issues	NA	fresh water supply is dependent on desalinization of sea water
Ethnic groups	-	creole (mulatto), black, Guadeloupe Mestizo (French-East Asia), white, East Indian
Exchange rates	-	euros per US dollar - 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002)
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 Nicolas SARKOZY (since 16 May 2007), represented by Prefect Dominique LACROIX (since 21 March 2007) head of government: President of the Territorial Council Louis-Constant FLEMING (since 16 July 2007) cabinet: Executive Council; note - there is also an advisory economic, social, and cultural council election: French president elected by popular vote to a five-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of Interior; president of the Territorial Council is elected by the members of the Council for a five-year term election results: Louis-Constant FLEMING unanimously elected president by the Territorial Council on 16 July 2007
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	the flag of France is used
GDP - composition by sector	-	agriculture: 1% industry: 15% services: 84% (2000)
Geographic coordinates	6 00 S, 71 30 E; note - Diego Garcia 7 20 S, 72 25 E	18 05 N, 63 57 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	the island of Saint Martin is the smallest landmass in the World shared by two independent states, the French territory of Saint Martin and the Dutch territory of Sint Maarten
Imports - commodities	-	crude petroleum, food, manufactured items
Imports - partners	-	US, Mexico (2006)
Independence	-	none (overseas collectivity of France)
Industries	-	tourism, light industry and manufacturing, heavy industry
International organization participation	-	UPU
Irrigated land	0 sq km	-
Labor force - by occupation	-	85% directly or indirectly employed in tourist industry
Land boundaries	0 km	total: 15 km border countries: Netherlands Antilles (Sint Maarten) 15 km
Land use	arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005)	-
Languages	-	French (official language), English, Dutch, French Patois, Spanish, Papiamento (dialect of Netherlands Antilles)
Legal system	the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply	the laws of France, where applicable, apply
Legislative branch	-	unicameral Territorial Council (23 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 1 and 8 July 2007 (next to be held July 2012) election results: percent of seats by party - UPP 49%, RRR 42.2%, Reussir Saint-Martin 8.9%; seats by party - UPP 16, RRR 6, Reussir Saint-Martin 1
Location	archipelago in the Indian Ocean, south of India, about one-half the way from Africa to Indonesia	island 300 km southeast of Puerto Rico
Map references	Political Map of the World	Central America and the Caribbean
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 3 nm exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm	-
Military - note	defense is the responsibility of the UK; the US lease on Diego Garcia expires in 2016	defense is the responsibility of France
National holiday	-	Bastille Day, 14 July (1789); note - local holiday is Schoalcher Day (Slavery Abolition Day) 12 July (1848)
Natural hazards	NA	-
Natural resources	coconuts, fish, sugarcane	salt
Political parties and leaders	-	Union Pour le Progres or UPP [Louis Constant FLEMING]; Rassemblement Responsabilite Reussite or RRR [Alain RICHARDSON]; Reussir Saint-Martin [Jean-Luc HAMLET]
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.)	33,102 (October 2004 census)
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998)	FM 3 (2007)
Religions	-	Roman Catholic, Jehovah's Witness, Protestant, Hindu
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: fully integrated access domestic: direct dial capability with both fixed and wireless systems international: country code - 590; undersea fiber-optic cable provides voice and data connectivity to Puerto Rico and Gudaloupe
Telephones - main lines in use	NA	-
Television broadcast stations	1 (1997)	-
Terrain	flat and low (most areas do not exceed two meters in elevation)	-
Transportation - note	-	nearest airport for international flights is Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM) located in Sint Maarten

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