Compare British Indian Ocean Territory (2006) - Svalbard (2003)

Compare British Indian Ocean Territory (2006) z Svalbard (2003)

	British Indian Ocean Territory (2006)	Svalbard (2003)

Age structure	-	0-14 years: NA% 15-64 years: NA% 65 years and over: NA% (2003 est.)
Airports	1 (2006)	4 (2002)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2006)	total: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1523 m: 1 (2002)
Airports - with unpaved runways	-	total: 2 under 914 m: 2 (2002)
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: 62,049 sq km land: 62,049 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Spitsbergen and Bjornoya (Bear Island)
Area - comparative	land area is about 0.3 times the size of Washington, DC	slightly smaller than West Virginia
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.	First discovered by the Norwegians in the 12th century, the islands served as an international whaling base during the 17th and 18th centuries. Norway's sovereignty was recognized in 1920; five years later it officially took over the territory.
Birth rate	-	NA births/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Budget	-	revenues: $11.5 million expenditures: $11.5 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1998 est.)
Capital	-	Longyearbyen
Climate	tropical marine; hot, humid, moderated by trade winds	arctic, tempered by warm North Atlantic Current; cool summers, cold winters; North Atlantic Current flows along west and north coasts of Spitsbergen, keeping water open and navigable most of the year
Coastline	698 km	3,587 km
Country name	conventional long form: British Indian Ocean Territory conventional short form: none abbreviation: BIOT	conventional long form: none conventional short form: Svalbard (sometimes referred to as Spitzbergen)
Currency	-	Norwegian krone (NOK)
Death rate	-	NA deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Dependency status	overseas territory of the UK; administered by a commissioner, resident in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London	territory of Norway; administered by the Polar Department of the Ministry of Justice, through a governor (sysselmann) residing in Longyearbyen, Spitsbergen; by treaty (9 February 1920) sovereignty was awarded to Norway
Diplomatic representation from the US	none (overseas territory of the UK)	-
Diplomatic representation in the US	none (overseas territory of the UK)	-
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;	despite recent discussions, Russia and Norway dispute their maritime limits in the Barents Sea and Russia's fishing rights beyond Svalbard's territorial limits within the Svalbard Treaty zone
Economic aid - recipient	-	$8.2 million from Norway (1998)
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.	Coal mining is the major economic activity on Svalbard. The treaty of 9 February 1920 gives the 41 signatories equal rights to exploit mineral deposits, subject to Norwegian regulation. Although US, UK, Dutch, and Swedish coal companies have mined in the past, the only companies still mining are Norwegian and Russian. The settlements on Svalbard are essentially company towns. The Norwegian state-owned coal company employs nearly 60% of the Norwegian population on the island, runs many of the local services, and provides most of the local infrastructure. There is also some trapping of seal, polar bear, fox, and walrus.
Electricity - consumption	NA kWh	NA kWh
Electricity - production	NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by the US military	NA kWh
Electricity - production by source	-	fossil fuel: 58% hydro: 42% nuclear: 0% other: 0%
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location on Diego Garcia 15 m	lowest point: Arctic Ocean 0 m highest point: Newtontoppen 1,717 m
Environment - current issues	NA	NA
Ethnic groups	-	Norwegian 55.4%, Russian and Ukrainian 44.3%, other 0.3% (1998)
Exchange rates	-	Norwegian kroner per US dollar - 7.9838 (2002), 8.9917 (2001), 8.8018 (2000), 7.7992 (1999), 7.5451 (1998)
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: King HARALD V of Norway (since 17 January 1991) head of government: Governor Morten RUUD (since NA November 1998) and Assistant Governor Odd Redar HUMLEGAARD (since NA) elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor and assistant governor responsible to the Polar Department of the Ministry of Justice
Exports	-	$NA
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 Norway is used
GDP	-	purchasing power parity - $NA
GDP - per capita	-	purchasing power parity - $NA
GDP - real growth rate	-	NA%
Geographic coordinates	6 00 S, 71 30 E; note - Diego Garcia 7 20 S, 72 25 E	78 00 N, 20 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	northernmost part of the Kingdom of Norway; consists of nine main islands; glaciers and snowfields cover 60% of the total area
Highways	-	total: NA km paved: NA km unpaved: NA km
Household income or consumption by percentage share	-	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
Imports	-	$NA
Independence	-	none (territory of Norway)
Industrial production growth rate	-	NA%
Infant mortality rate	-	total: NA% male: NA% female: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	-	NA%
International organization participation	-	none
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)	-	13 (Svalbard and Jan Mayen) (2000)
Irrigated land	0 sq km	NA sq km
Labor force	-	NA
Land boundaries	0 km	0 km
Land use	arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005)	arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (no trees, and the only bushes are crowberry and cloudberry) (1998 est.)
Languages	-	Russian, Norwegian
Legal system	the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply	NA
Life expectancy at birth	-	total population: NA years male: NA years female: NA years (2003 est.)
Literacy	-	NA
Location	archipelago in the Indian Ocean, south of India, about one-half the way from Africa to Indonesia	Northern Europe, islands between the Arctic Ocean, Barents Sea, Greenland Sea, and Norwegian Sea, north of Norway
Map references	Political Map of the World	Arctic Region
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 3 nm exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm	exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM unilaterally claimed by Norway but not recognized by Russia territorial sea: 4 NM
Merchant marine	-	none (2002 est.)
Military - note	defense is the responsibility of the UK; the US lease on Diego Garcia expires in 2016	demilitarized by treaty (9 February 1920)
National holiday	-	NA
Natural hazards	NA	ice floes often block the entrance to Bellsund (a transit point for coal export) on the west coast and occasionally make parts of the northeastern coast inaccessible to maritime traffic
Natural resources	coconuts, fish, sugarcane	coal, copper, iron ore, phosphate, zinc, wildlife, fish
Net migration rate	-	NA migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.)
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.)	2,811 (July 2003 est.)
Population below poverty line	-	NA%
Population growth rate	-	-0.02% (2003 est.)
Ports and harbors	-	Barentsburg, Longyearbyen, Ny-Alesund, Pyramiden
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998)	AM 1, FM 1 (plus 2 repeaters), shortwave 0 (1998)
Railways	-	0 km
Sex ratio	-	NA (2003 est.)
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: probably adequate domestic: local telephone service international: satellite earth station - 1 of unknown type (for communication with Norwegian mainland only)
Telephones - main lines in use	NA	NA
Telephones - mobile cellular	-	NA
Television broadcast stations	1 (1997)	NA
Terrain	flat and low (most areas do not exceed two meters in elevation)	wild, rugged mountains; much of high land ice covered; west coast clear of ice about one-half of the year; fjords along west and north coasts
Total fertility rate	-	NA children born/woman (2003 est.)
Waterways	-	none

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