Compare British Indian Ocean Territory (2006) - South Africa (2004)

Compare British Indian Ocean Territory (2006) z South Africa (2004)

	British Indian Ocean Territory (2006)	South Africa (2004)

Administrative divisions	-	9 provinces; Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North-West, Northern Cape, Western Cape
Age structure	-	0-14 years: 29.5% (male 6,337,468; female 6,254,925) 15-64 years: 65.3% (male 13,898,269; female 14,017,559) 65 years and over: 5.2% (male 886,801; female 1,323,508) (2004 est.)
Agriculture - products	-	corn, wheat, sugarcane, fruits, vegetables; beef, poultry, mutton, wool, dairy products
Airports	1 (2006)	728 (2003 est.)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2006)	total: 144 over 3,047 m: 10 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 1,524 to 2,437 m: 51 914 to 1,523 m: 67 under 914 m: 11 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways	-	total: 584 1,524 to 2,437 m: 34 914 to 1,523 m: 300 under 914 m: 250 (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: 1,219,912 sq km land: 1,219,912 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Prince Edward Islands (Marion Island and Prince Edward Island)
Area - comparative	land area is about 0.3 times the size of Washington, DC	slightly less than twice the size of Texas
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.	After the British seized the Cape of Good Hope area in 1806, many of the Dutch settlers (the Boers) trekked north to found their own republics. The discovery of diamonds (1867) and gold (1886) spurred wealth and immigration and intensified the subjugation of the native inhabitants. The Boers resisted British encroachments, but were defeated in the Boer War (1899-1902). The resulting Union of South Africa operated under a policy of apartheid - the separate development of the races. The 1990s brought an end to apartheid politically and ushered in black majority rule.
Birth rate	-	18.38 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Budget	-	revenues: $37.48 billion expenditures: $41.46 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA billion (2003)
Capital	-	Pretoria; note - Cape Town is the legislative center and Bloemfontein the judicial center
Climate	tropical marine; hot, humid, moderated by trade winds	mostly semiarid; subtropical along east coast; sunny days, cool nights
Coastline	698 km	2,798 km
Constitution	-	10 December 1996; this new constitution was certified by the Constitutional Court on 4 December 1996, was signed by then President MANDELA on 10 December 1996, and entered into effect on 3 February 1997; it is being implemented in phases
Country name	conventional long form: British Indian Ocean Territory conventional short form: none abbreviation: BIOT	conventional long form: Republic of South Africa conventional short form: South Africa former: Union of South Africa abbreviation: RSA
Currency	-	rand (ZAR)
Death rate	-	20.54 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Debt - external	-	$25.9 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 Cameron H. HUME embassy: 877 Pretorius Street, Pretoria mailing address: P. O. Box 9536, Pretoria 0001 telephone: [27] (12) 342-1048 FAX: [27] (12) 342-2244 consulate(s) general: Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg
Diplomatic representation in the US	none (overseas territory of the UK)	chief of mission: Ambassador Barbara Joyce Mosima MASEKELA chancery: 3051 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 232-4400 FAX: [1] (202) 265-1607 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York
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;	managed dispute with Namibia over the location of the boundary in the Orange River
Economic aid - recipient	-	$487.5 million (2000)
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.	South Africa is a middle-income, emerging market with an abundant supply of natural resources; well-developed financial, legal, communications, energy, and transport sectors; a stock exchange that ranks among the 10 largest in the world; and a modern infrastructure supporting an efficient distribution of goods to major urban centers throughout the region. However, growth has not been strong enough to lower South Africa's high unemployment rate; and daunting economic problems remain from the apartheid era, especially poverty and lack of economic empowerment among the disadvantaged groups. High crime and HIV/AIDS infection rates also deter investment. South African economic policy is fiscally conservative, but pragmatic, focusing on targeting inflation and liberalizing trade as means to increase job growth and household income.
Electricity - consumption	NA kWh	181.2 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports	-	6.91 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports	-	6.2 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production	NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by the US military	195.6 billion 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: Njesuthi 3,408 m
Environment - current issues	NA	lack of important arterial rivers or lakes requires extensive water conservation and control measures; growth in water usage outpacing supply; pollution of rivers from agricultural runoff and urban discharge; air pollution resulting in acid rain; soil erosion; desertification
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, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Ethnic groups	-	black 75.2%, white 13.6%, Colored 8.6%, Indian 2.6%
Exchange rates	-	rand per US dollar - 7.5648 (2003), 10.5407 (2002), 8.6092 (2001), 6.9398 (2000), 6.1095 (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 Thabo MBEKI (since 16 June 1999); Executive Deputy President Jacob ZUMA (since 17 June 1999); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Thabo MBEKI (since 16 June 1999); Executive Deputy President Jacob ZUMA (since 17 June 1999); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president elections: president elected by the National Assembly for a five-year term; election last held 2 June 1999 (next to be held 24 April 2004) election results: Thabo MBEKI elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - 100% (by acclamation) note: ANC-IFP is the governing coalition
Exports	-	NA (2001)
Exports - commodities	-	gold, diamonds, platinum, other metals and minerals, machinery and equipment (1998 est.)
Exports - partners	-	UK 12.6%, US 12.4%, Japan 9.2%, Germany 8.1%, China 4.7%, Italy 4.4% (2003)
Fiscal year	-	1 April - 31 March
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	two equal width horizontal bands of red (top) and blue separated by a central green band which splits into a horizontal Y, the arms of which end at the corners of the hoist side; the Y embraces a black isosceles triangle from which the arms are separated by narrow yellow bands; the red and blue bands are separated from the green band and its arms by narrow white stripes
GDP	-	purchasing power parity - $456.7 billion (2003 est.)
GDP - composition by sector	-	agriculture: 3.8% industry: 31% services: 65.2% (2003)
GDP - per capita	-	purchasing power parity - $10,700 (2003 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	-	1.9% (2003 est.)
Geographic coordinates	6 00 S, 71 30 E; note - Diego Garcia 7 20 S, 72 25 E	29 00 S, 24 00 E
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	South Africa completely surrounds Lesotho and almost completely surrounds Swaziland
Highways	-	total: 362,099 km paved: 73,506 km (including 2,032 km of expressways) unpaved: 288,593 km (2000)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	-	lowest 10%: 1.1% highest 10%: 45.9% (1994)
Illicit drugs	-	transshipment center for heroin, hashish, marijuana, and cocaine; cocaine consumption on the rise; world's largest market for illicit methaqualone, usually imported illegally from India through various east African countries; illicit cultivation of marijuana; attractive venue for money launderers given the increasing level of organized criminal and narcotics activity in the region
Imports	-	NA (2001)
Imports - commodities	-	machinery and equipment, chemicals, petroleum products, scientific instruments, foodstuffs (2000 est.)
Imports - partners	-	Germany 16.6%, UK 8.5%, US 8.2%, Japan 5.9%, China 5.9%, Saudi Arabia 5.2%, France 5% (2003)
Independence	-	31 May 1910 (from UK); note - South Africa became a republic in 1961 following an October 1960 referendum
Industrial production growth rate	-	5% (2003 est.)
Industries	-	mining (world's largest producer of platinum, gold, chromium), automobile assembly, metalworking, machinery, textile, iron and steel, chemicals, fertilizer, foodstuffs
Infant mortality rate	-	total: 62.18 deaths/1,000 live births male: 65.87 deaths/1,000 live births female: 58.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	-	5.9% (2003 est.)
International organization participation	-	ACP, AfDB, AU, BIS, C, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MONUC, NAM, NSG, ONUB, OPCW, PCA, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIL, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC
Irrigated land	0 sq km	13,500 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch	-	Constitutional Court; Supreme Court of Appeals; High Courts; Magistrate Courts
Labor force	-	16.35 million economically active (2003)
Labor force - by occupation	-	agriculture 30%, industry 25%, services 45% (1999 est.)
Land boundaries	0 km	total: 4,862 km border countries: Botswana 1,840 km, Lesotho 909 km, Mozambique 491 km, Namibia 967 km, Swaziland 430 km, Zimbabwe 225 km
Land use	arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005)	arable land: 12.08% permanent crops: 0.79% other: 87.13% (2001)
Languages	-	11 official languages, including Afrikaans, English, Ndebele, Pedi, Sotho, Swazi, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa, Zulu
Legal system	the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply	based on Roman-Dutch law and English common law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Legislative branch	-	bicameral Parliament consisting of the National Assembly (400 seats; members are elected by popular vote under a system of proportional representation to serve five-year terms) and the National Council of Provinces (90 seats, 10 members elected by each of the nine provincial legislatures for five-year terms; has special powers to protect regional interests, including the safeguarding of cultural and linguistic traditions among ethnic minorities); note - following the implementation of the new constitution on 3 February 1997 the former Senate was disbanded and replaced by the National Council of Provinces with essentially no change in membership and party affiliations, although the new institution's responsibilities have been changed somewhat by the new constitution elections: National Assembly and National Council of Provinces - last held 14 April 2004 (next to be held NA 2009) election results: National Assembly - percent of vote by party - ANC 69.7%, DA 12.4%, IFP 7%, UDM 2.3%, NNP 1.7%, ACDP 1.6%, other 5.3%; seats by party - ANC 279, DA 50, IFP 28, UDM 9, NNP 7, ACDP 6, other 21; National Council of Provinces - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA
Life expectancy at birth	-	total population: 44.19 years male: 44.39 years female: 43.98 years (2004 est.)
Literacy	-	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 86.4% male: 87% female: 85.7% (2003 est.)
Location	archipelago in the Indian Ocean, south of India, about one-half the way from Africa to Indonesia	Southern Africa, at the southern tip of the continent of Africa
Map references	Political Map of the World	Africa
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 3 nm exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to edge of the continental margin
Merchant marine	-	total: 4 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 31,505 GRT/37,091 DWT by type: container 1, liquefied gas 1, petroleum tanker 2 foreign-owned: Denmark 1, Netherlands 1 registered in other countries: 7 (2004 est.)
Military - note	defense is the responsibility of the UK; the US lease on Diego Garcia expires in 2016	with the end of apartheid and the establishment of majority rule, former military, black homelands forces, and ex-opposition forces were integrated into the South African National Defense Force (SANDF); as of 2003 the integration process was considered complete
Military branches	-	South African National Defense Force: Army, Navy, Air Force, and Medical Services
Military expenditures - dollar figure	-	$2,653.4 million (2003)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	-	1.7% (2003)
Military manpower - availability	-	males age 15-49: 11,924,500 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service	-	males age 15-49: 7,247,696 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually	-	males: 471,221 (2004 est.)
National holiday	-	Freedom Day, 27 April (1994)
Nationality	-	noun: South African(s) adjective: South African
Natural hazards	NA	prolonged droughts
Natural resources	coconuts, fish, sugarcane	gold, chromium, antimony, coal, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, tin, uranium, gem diamonds, platinum, copper, vanadium, salt, natural gas
Net migration rate	-	-0.29 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Pipelines	-	condensate 100 km; gas 1,052 km; oil 847 km; refined products 1,354 km (2004)
Political parties and leaders	-	African Christian Democratic Party or ACDP [Kenneth MESHOE, president]; African National Congress or ANC [Thabo MBEKI, president]; Democratic Alliance or DA (formed from the merger of the Democratic Party or DP and the Freedom Alliance or FA) [Anthony LEON]; Inkatha Freedom Party or IFP [Mangosuthu BUTHELEZI, president]; New National Party or NNP [Marthinus VAN SCHALKWYK]; Pan-Africanist Congress or PAC [Stanley MOGOBA, president]; United Democratic Movement or UDM [Bantu HOLOMISA]
Political pressure groups and leaders	-	Congress of South African Trade Unions or COSATU [Zwelinzima VAVI, general secretary]; South African Communist Party or SACP [Blade NZIMANDE, general secretary]; South African National Civics Organization or SANCO [Mlungisi HLONGWANE, national president]; note - COSATU and SACP are in a formal alliance with the ANC
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.)	42,718,530 note: South Africa took a census October 1996 that showed a population of 40,583,611 (after an official adjustment for a 6.8% underenumeration based on a postenumeration survey); estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2004 est.)
Population below poverty line	-	50% (2000 est.)
Population growth rate	-	-0.25% (2004 est.)
Ports and harbors	-	Cape Town, Durban, East London, Mossel Bay, Port Elizabeth, Richards Bay, Saldanha
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998)	AM 14, FM 347 (plus 243 repeaters), shortwave 1 (1998)
Railways	-	total: 22,298 km narrow gauge: 21,984 km 1.065-m gauge (10,436 km electrified); 314 km 0.610-m gauge note: includes a 2,228 km commuter rail system (2003)
Religions	-	Christian 68% (includes most whites and Coloreds, about 60% of blacks and about 40% of Indians), Muslim 2%, Hindu 1.5% (60% of Indians), indigenous beliefs and animist 28.5%
Sex ratio	-	at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2004 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: the system is the best developed and most modern in Africa domestic: consists of carrier-equipped open-wire lines, coaxial cables, microwave radio relay links, fiber-optic cable, radiotelephone communication stations, and wireless local loops; key centers are Bloemfontein, Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth, and Pretoria international: country code - 27; 2 submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 2 Atlantic Ocean)
Telephones - main lines in use	NA	4.844 million (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular	-	16.86 million (2003)
Television broadcast stations	1 (1997)	556 (plus 144 network repeaters) (1997)
Terrain	flat and low (most areas do not exceed two meters in elevation)	vast interior plateau rimmed by rugged hills and narrow coastal plain
Total fertility rate	-	2.18 children born/woman (2004 est.)
Unemployment rate	-	31% (includes workers no longer looking for employment) (2003 est.)

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