Compare British Indian Ocean Territory (2007) - Jamaica (2005)

Compare British Indian Ocean Territory (2007) z Jamaica (2005)

	British Indian Ocean Territory (2007)	Jamaica (2005)

Administrative divisions	-	14 parishes; Clarendon, Hanover, Kingston, Manchester, Portland, Saint Andrew, Saint Ann, Saint Catherine, Saint Elizabeth, Saint James, Saint Mary, Saint Thomas, Trelawny, Westmoreland note: for local government purposes, Kingston and Saint Andrew were amalgamated in 1923 into the present single corporate body known as the Kingston and Saint Andrew Corporation
Age structure	-	0-14 years: 27.5% (male 385,099/female 367,398) 15-64 years: 65.6% (male 897,953/female 893,509) 65 years and over: 6.9% (male 83,632/female 104,241) (2005 est.)
Agriculture - products	-	sugarcane, bananas, coffee, citrus, yams, vegetables, poultry, goats, milk, crustaceans, and mollusks
Airports	1 (2007)	35 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2007)	total: 11 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 5 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways	-	total: 24 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 22 (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: 10,991 sq km land: 10,831 sq km water: 160 sq km
Area - comparative	land area is about 0.3 times the size of Washington, DC	slightly smaller than Connecticut
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.	Jamaica gained full independence within the British Commonwealth in 1962. Deteriorating economic conditions during the 1970s led to recurrent violence and a drop off in tourism. Elections in 1980 saw the democratic socialists voted out of office. Political violence marred elections during the 1990s.
Birth rate	-	16.56 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Budget	-	revenues: $2.793 billion expenditures: $3.157 billion, including capital expenditures of $236 million (2004 est.)
Capital	-	Kingston
Climate	tropical marine; hot, humid, moderated by trade winds	tropical; hot, humid; temperate interior
Coastline	698 km	1,022 km
Constitution	-	6 August 1962
Country name	conventional long form: British Indian Ocean Territory conventional short form: none abbreviation: BIOT	conventional long form: none conventional short form: Jamaica
Death rate	-	5.37 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Debt - external	-	$5.964 billion (2004 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 Sue McCourt COBB embassy: Jamaica Mutual Life Center, 2 Oxford Road, 3rd floor, Kingston 5 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [1] (876) 929-4850 through 4859 FAX: [1] (876) 935-6001
Diplomatic representation in the US	none (overseas territory of the UK)	chief of mission: Ambassador Gordon SHIRLEY chancery: 1520 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 452-0660 FAX: [1] (202) 452-0081 consulate(s) general: Miami 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 1967 and 1973 and now residing chiefly in Mauritius, were granted UK citizenship and the right to repatriation; in May 2006, the High Court of London reversed U.K. Government's 2004 orders of council that banned habitation on the islands; a small group of Chagossians visited Diego Garcia in April 2006; repatriation is complicated by the exclusive US military lease of Diego Garcia that restricts access to the largest viable island in the chain	none
Economic aid - recipient	-	$16 million (2003)
Economy - overview	All economic activity is concentrated on the largest island of Diego Garcia, where a joint UK-US military facility is located. Construction projects and various services needed to support the military installation are performed 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 native Ilois return, they plan to reestablish sugarcane production and fishing. The territory makes money by selling fishing licenses and postage stamps.	The Jamaican economy is heavily dependent on services, which now account for 60% of GDP. The country continues to derive most of its foreign exchange from tourism, remittances, and bauxite/alumina. The global economic slowdown, particularly after the terrorist attacks in the US on 11 September 2001, stunted economic growth; the economy rebounded moderately in 2003-04, with brisk tourist seasons. But the economy faces serious long-term problems: high interest rates; increased foreign competition; a pressured, sometimes sliding, exchange rate; a sizable merchandise trade deficit; large-scale unemployment; and a growing internal debt, the result of government bailouts to ailing sectors of the economy. The ratio of debt to GDP is close to 150%. Inflation, previously a bright spot, is expected to remain in the double digits. Uncertain economic conditions have led to increased civil unrest, including gang violence fueled by the drug trade. In 2004, the government faced the difficult prospect of having to achieve fiscal discipline in order to maintain debt payments while simultaneously attacking a serious and growing crime problem which is hampering economic growth. Attempts at deficit control were derailed by Hurricane Ivan in September 2004, which required substantial government spending to repair the damage. Despite the hurricane, tourism looks set to enjoy solid growth for the foreseeable future.
Electricity - consumption	NA kWh	5.849 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports	-	0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports	-	0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - production	NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by the US military	6.289 billion kWh (2002)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location on Diego Garcia 15 m	lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Blue Mountain Peak 2,256 m
Environment - current issues	NA	heavy rates of deforestation; coastal waters polluted by industrial waste, sewage, and oil spills; damage to coral reefs; air pollution in Kingston results from vehicle emissions
Environment - international agreements	-	party to: 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 signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Ethnic groups	-	black 90.9%, East Indian 1.3%, white 0.2%, Chinese 0.2%, mixed 7.3%, other 0.1%
Exchange rates	-	Jamaican dollars per US dollar - 61.197 (2004), 57.741 (2003), 48.416 (2002), 45.996 (2001), 42.986 (2000)
Executive branch	chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952) head of government: Commissioner Leigh TURNER (since July 2006); Administrator Tony HUMPHRIES (since February 2005); note - both reside in the UK and are represented by the officer commanding British Forces on Diego Garcia cabinet: NA elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; commissioner and administrator appointed by the monarch	chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Sir Howard Felix COOKE (since 1 August 1991) head of government: Prime Minister Percival James PATTERSON (since 30 March 1992) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the prime minister; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition in the House of Representatives is appointed prime minister by the governor general; the deputy prime minister is recommended by the prime minister
Exports	-	NA
Exports - commodities	-	alumina, bauxite, sugar, bananas, rum, coffee, yams, beverages, chemicals, wearing apparel, mineral fuels
Exports - partners	-	US 17.4%, Canada 14.8%, France 13%, China 10.5%, UK 8.7%, Netherlands 7.5%, Norway 6%, Germany 5.9% (2004)
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	diagonal yellow cross divides the flag into four triangles - green (top and bottom) and black (hoist side and outer side)
GDP - composition by sector	-	agriculture: 6.1% industry: 32.7% services: 61.3% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita	-	purchasing power parity - $4,100 (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	-	1.9% (2004 est.)
Geographic coordinates	6 00 S, 71 30 E; note - Diego Garcia 7 20 S, 72 25 E	18 15 N, 77 30 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	strategic location between Cayman Trench and Jamaica Channel, the main sea lanes for the Panama Canal
Highways	-	total: 18,700 km paved: 13,109 km unpaved: 5,591 km (1999 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	-	lowest 10%: 2.7% highest 10%: 30.3% (2000)
Illicit drugs	-	major transshipment point for cocaine from South America to North America and Europe; illicit cultivation of cannabis; government has an active manual cannabis eradication program; corruption is a major concern; substantial money-laundering activity; Colombian narcotics traffickers favor Jamaica for illicit financial transactions
Imports	-	NA
Imports - commodities	-	food and other consumer goods, industrial supplies, fuel, parts and accessories of capital goods, machinery and transport equipment, construction materials
Imports - partners	-	US 38.7%, Trinidad and Tobago 13.2%, France 5.6%, Japan 4.7% (2004)
Independence	-	6 August 1962 (from UK)
Industrial production growth rate	-	-2% (2000 est.)
Industries	-	tourism, bauxite/alumina, textiles, agro processing, wearing apparel, light manufactures, rum, cement, metal, paper, chemical products, telecommunications
Infant mortality rate	-	total: 12.36 deaths/1,000 live births male: 13.35 deaths/1,000 live births female: 11.32 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	-	12.4% (2004 est.)
International organization participation	-	ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-15, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO
Irrigated land	0 sq km	250 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch	-	Supreme Court (judges appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister); Court of Appeal
Labor force	-	1.14 million (2004 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	-	agriculture 20.1%, industry 16.6%, services 63.4% (2003)
Land boundaries	0 km	0 km
Land use	arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005)	arable land: 16.07% permanent crops: 10.16% other: 73.77% (2001)
Languages	-	English, patois English
Legal system	the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply	based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch	-	bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (a 21-member body appointed by the governor general on the recommendations of the prime minister and the leader of the opposition; ruling party is allocated 13 seats, and the opposition is allocated eight seats) and the House of Representatives (60 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 16 October 2002 (next to be held in October 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - PNP 52%, JLP 47.3%; seats by party - PNP 34, JLP 26
Life expectancy at birth	-	total population: 73.33 years male: 71.63 years female: 75.12 years (2005 est.)
Literacy	-	definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school total population: 87.9% male: 84.1% female: 91.6% (2003 est.)
Location	archipelago in the Indian Ocean, south of India, about one-half the way from Africa to Indonesia	Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, south of Cuba
Map references	Political Map of the World	Central America and the Caribbean
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 3 nm exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm	measured from claimed archipelagic straight baselines 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: 9 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 74,881 GRT/100,682 DWT by type: bulk carrier 5, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 3 foreign-owned: 8 (Germany 2, Greece 5, UAE 1) (2005)
Military - note	defense is the responsibility of the UK; the US lease on Diego Garcia expires in 2016	-
Military branches	-	Jamaica Defense Force: Ground Forces, Coast Guard, Air Wing
Military expenditures - dollar figure	-	$31.2 million (2003)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	-	0.4% (2003)
National holiday	-	Independence Day, 6 August (1962)
Nationality	-	noun: Jamaican(s) adjective: Jamaican
Natural hazards	NA	hurricanes (especially July to November)
Natural resources	coconuts, fish, sugarcane	bauxite, gypsum, limestone
Net migration rate	-	-4.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Political parties and leaders	-	Jamaica Labor Party or JLP [Bruce GOLDING]; National Democratic Movement or NDM [Hyacinth BENNETT]; People's National Party or PNP [Percival James PATTERSON]
Political pressure groups and leaders	-	New Beginnings Movement or NBM; Rastafarians (black religious/racial cultists, pan-Africanists)
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	2,731,832 (July 2005 est.)
Population below poverty line	-	19.7% (2002 est.)
Population growth rate	-	0.71% (2005 est.)
Ports and harbors	-	Kingston, Port Esquivel, Port Kaiser, Port Rhoades, Rocky Point
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998)	AM 10, FM 13, shortwave 0 (1998)
Railways	-	total: 272 km standard gauge: 272 km 1.435-m gauge note: 207 of these km belonging to the Jamaica Railway Corporation had been in common carrier service until 1992 but are no longer operational; 57 km of the remaining track is privately owned and used by ALCAN to transport bauxite (2003)
Religions	-	Protestant 61.3% (Church of God 21.2%, Baptist 8.8%, Anglican 5.5%, Seventh-Day Adventist 9%, Pentecostal 7.6%, Methodist 2.7%, United Church 2.7%, Brethren 1.1%, Jehovah's Witness 1.6%, Moravian 1.1%), Roman Catholic 4%, other including some spiritual cults 34.7%
Sex ratio	-	at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2005 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: country code (Diego Garcia) - 246; international telephone service is carried by satellite (2000)	general assessment: fully automatic domestic telephone network domestic: NA international: country code - 1-876; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); 3 coaxial submarine cables
Telephones - main lines in use	NA	444,400 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular	-	1.4 million (2002)
Television broadcast stations	1 (1997)	7 (1997)
Terrain	flat and low (most areas do not exceed two meters in elevation)	mostly mountains, with narrow, discontinuous coastal plain
Total fertility rate	-	1.95 children born/woman (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate	-	15% (2004 est.)

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