Compare British Indian Ocean Territory (2006) - West Bank (2007)

Compare British Indian Ocean Territory (2006) z West Bank (2007)

	British Indian Ocean Territory (2006)	West Bank (2007)

Age structure	-	0-14 years: 42.4% (male 551,243/female 524,800) 15-64 years: 54.2% (male 704,209/female 670,382) 65 years and over: 3.4% (male 36,175/female 49,118) (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products	-	olives, citrus, vegetables; beef, dairy products
Airports	1 (2006)	3 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2006)	total: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2007)
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: 5,860 sq km land: 5,640 sq km water: 220 sq km note: includes West Bank, Latrun Salient, and the northwest quarter of the Dead Sea, but excludes Mt. Scopus; East Jerusalem and Jerusalem No Man's Land are also included only as a means of depicting the entire area occupied by Israel in 1967
Area - comparative	land area is about 0.3 times the size of Washington, DC	slightly smaller than Delaware
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 Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements (the DOP), signed in Washington in September 1993, provided for a transitional period of Palestinian interim self-government in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. A transfer of authority to the Palestinian Authority (PA) for the Gaza Strip and Jericho took place pursuant to the Israel-PLO 4 May 1994 Cairo Agreement on the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area and, in additional areas of the West Bank, pursuant to the Israel-PLO 28 September 1995 Interim Agreement, the Israel-PLO 15 January 1997 Protocol Concerning Redeployment in Hebron, the Israel-PLO 23 October 1998 Wye River Memorandum, and the 4 September 1999 Sharm el-Sheikh Agreement. Direct negotiations to determine the permanent status of Gaza and the West Bank began in September 1999 after a three-year hiatus, but were derailed by a second intifadah that broke out a year later. In April 2003, the Quartet (US, EU, UN, and Russia) presented a roadmap to a final settlement of the conflict by 2005 based on reciprocal steps by the two parties leading to two states, Israel and a democratic Palestine. The proposed date for a permanent status agreement has been postponed indefinitely due to violence and accusations that both sides have not followed through on their commitments. Following Palestinian leader Yasir ARAFAT's death in late 2004, Mahmud ABBAS was elected PA president in January 2005. A month later, Israel and the PA agreed to the Sharm el-Sheikh Commitments in an effort to move the peace process forward. In September 2005, Israel withdrew all its settlers and soldiers and dismantled its military facilities in the Gaza Strip and four northern West Bank settlements. Nonetheless, Israel controls maritime, airspace, and most access to the Gaza Strip. A November 2005 PA-Israeli agreement authorized the reopening of the Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt under joint PA and Egyptian control. In January 2006, the Islamic Resistance Movement, HAMAS, won control of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC). The international community has refused to accept the HAMAS-led government because it does not recognize Israel, will not renounce violence, and refuses to honor previous peace agreements between Israel and the PA. Since March 2006, President ABBAS has had little success negotiating with HAMAS to present a political platform acceptable to the international community so as to lift the economic siege on Palestinians. The PLC was unable to convene in late 2006 as a result of Israel's detention of many HAMAS PLC members and Israeli-imposed travel restrictions on other PLC members.
Birth rate	-	30.99 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget	-	revenues: $1.23 billion expenditures: $1.64 billion (2005)
Climate	tropical marine; hot, humid, moderated by trade winds	temperate; temperature and precipitation vary with altitude, warm to hot summers, cool to mild winters
Coastline	698 km	0 km (landlocked)
Country name	conventional long form: British Indian Ocean Territory conventional short form: none abbreviation: BIOT	conventional long form: none conventional short form: West Bank
Death rate	-	3.85 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external	-	$NA
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)	-
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;	West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli-occupied with current status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent status to be determined through further negotiation; Israel continues construction of a "seam line" separation barrier along parts of the Green Line and within the West Bank; Israel withdrew from four settlements in the northern West Bank in August 2005; since 1948, about 350 peacekeepers from the UN Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO), headquartered in Jerusalem, monitor ceasefires, supervise armistice agreements, prevent isolated incidents from escalating, and assist other UN personnel in the region
Economic aid - recipient	-	$1.102 billion; (includes Gaza Strip) (2005)
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 West Bank - the larger of the two areas under the Palestinian Authority (PA) - has experienced a general decline in economic conditions since the second intifadah began in September 2000. The downturn has been largely the result of Israeli closure policies - the imposition of border closures in response to security incidents in Israel - which disrupted labor and trading relationships. In 2001, and even more severely in 2002, Israeli military measures in PA areas resulted in the destruction of capital, the disruption of administrative structures, and widespread business closures. International aid of at least $1.14 billion to the West Bank and Gaza Strip in 2004 prevented the complete collapse of the economy and allowed some reforms in the government's financial operations. In 2005, high unemployment and limited trade opportunities - due to continued closures both within the West Bank and externally - stymied growth. Israel's and the international community's financial embargo of the PA since HAMAS took office in March 2006 has interrupted the provision of PA social services and the payment of PA salaries.
Electricity - consumption	NA kWh	NA kWh
Electricity - imports	-	NA kWh
Electricity - production	NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by the US military	NA kWh; note - most electricity imported from Israel; East Jerusalem Electric Company buys and distributes electricity to Palestinians in East Jerusalem and its concession in the West Bank; the Israel Electric Company directly supplies electricity to most Jewish residents and military facilities; some Palestinian municipalities, such as Nablus and Janin, generate their own electricity from small power plants
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location on Diego Garcia 15 m	lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m highest point: Tall Asur 1,022 m
Environment - current issues	NA	adequacy of fresh water supply; sewage treatment
Ethnic groups	-	Palestinian Arab and other 83%, Jewish 17%
Exchange rates	-	new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.4565 (2006), 4.4877 (2005), 4.482 (2004), 4.5541 (2003), 4.7378 (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	-
Exports	-	$301 million f.o.b.; (includes Gaza Strip) (2005)
Exports - commodities	-	olives, fruit, vegetables, limestone
Exports - partners	-	Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip (2006)
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	-
GDP - composition by sector	-	agriculture: 8% industry: 18.2% services: 73.9% (includes Gaza Strip) (2005 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	-	4.9% (includes Gaza Strip) (2005 est.)
Geographic coordinates	6 00 S, 71 30 E; note - Diego Garcia 7 20 S, 72 25 E	32 00 N, 35 15 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	landlocked; highlands are main recharge area for Israel's coastal aquifers; there are 242 West Bank settlements and 29 East Jerusalem settlements in addition to at least 20 occupied outposts (August 2005 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	-	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
Imports	-	$2.44 billion c.i.f.; (includes Gaza Strip) (2005)
Imports - commodities	-	food, consumer goods, construction materials
Imports - partners	-	Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip (2006)
Industrial production growth rate	-	2.4% (includes Gaza Strip) (2005)
Industries	-	generally small family businesses that produce cement, textiles, soap, olive-wood carvings, and mother-of-pearl souvenirs; the Israelis have established some small-scale, modern industries in the settlements and industrial centers
Infant mortality rate	-	total: 18.67 deaths/1,000 live births male: 20.59 deaths/1,000 live births female: 16.64 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	-	2.9% (includes Gaza Strip) (2005)
Irrigated land	0 sq km	150 sq km; note - includes Gaza Strip (2003)
Labor force	-	568,000 (2005)
Labor force - by occupation	-	agriculture: 16% industry: 29% services: 55% (2005)
Land boundaries	0 km	total: 404 km border countries: Israel 307 km, Jordan 97 km
Land use	arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005)	arable land: 16.9% permanent crops: 18.97% other: 64.13% (2001)
Languages	-	Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians), English (widely understood)
Legal system	the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply	-
Life expectancy at birth	-	total population: 73.46 years male: 71.68 years female: 75.35 years (2007 est.)
Literacy	-	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 92.4% male: 96.7% female: 88% (2004 est.)
Location	archipelago in the Indian Ocean, south of India, about one-half the way from Africa to Indonesia	Middle East, west of Jordan
Map references	Political Map of the World	Middle East
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 3 nm exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm	none (landlocked)
Military - note	defense is the responsibility of the UK; the US lease on Diego Garcia expires in 2016	-
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	-	NA
Nationality	-	noun: NA adjective: NA
Natural hazards	NA	droughts
Natural resources	coconuts, fish, sugarcane	arable land
Net migration rate	-	2.71 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 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.)	2,535,927 note: in addition, there are about 187,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank and fewer than 177,000 in East Jerusalem (July 2004 est.)
Population below poverty line	-	45.7% (2005)
Population growth rate	-	2.985% (2007 est.)
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998)	AM 0, FM 8, shortwave 0 (2005)
Religions	-	Muslim 75% (predominantly Sunni), Jewish 17%, Christian and other 8%
Sex ratio	-	at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.736 male(s)/female total population: 1.038 male(s)/female (2007 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: NA domestic: Israeli company BEZEK and the Palestinian company PALTEL are responsible for fixed line services in the Gaza Strip; the Palestinian JAWAL company provides cellular services international: country code - 970 (2004)
Telephones - main lines in use	NA	349,000 (includes Gaza Strip) (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular	-	1.095 million (includes Gaza Strip) (2005)
Television broadcast stations	1 (1997)	8 (2005)
Terrain	flat and low (most areas do not exceed two meters in elevation)	mostly rugged dissected upland, some vegetation in west, but barren in east
Total fertility rate	-	4.17 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate	-	20.3% (includes Gaza Strip) (2005)

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