Compare British Virgin Islands (2002) - British Indian Ocean Territory (2001)

Compare British Virgin Islands (2002) z British Indian Ocean Territory (2001)

	British Virgin Islands (2002)	British Indian Ocean Territory (2001)

Administrative divisions	none (overseas territory of the UK)	-
Age structure	0-14 years: 22.4% (male 2,401; female 2,351) 15-64 years: 72.7% (male 7,962; female 7,509) 65 years and over: 4.9% (male 565; female 484) (2002 est.)	-
Agriculture - products	fruits, vegetables; livestock, poultry; fish	-
Airports	3 (2001)	1 (2000 est.)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2002)	total: 1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002)	-
Area	total: 153 sq km land: 153 sq km water: 0 sq km note: comprised of 16 inhabited and more than 20 uninhabited islands; includes the island of Anegada	total: 60 sq km land: 60 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes the entire Chagos Archipelago
Area - comparative	about 0.9 times the size of Washington, DC	about 0.3 times the size of Washington, DC
Background	First settled by the Dutch in 1648, the islands were annexed in 1672 by the English. The economy is closely tied to the larger and more populous US Virgin Islands to the west; the US dollar is the legal currency.	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 resident 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 which had excluded them from the archipelago, but upheld the special military status of Diego Garcia.
Birth rate	15.09 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)	-
Budget	revenues: $121.5 million expenditures: $115.5 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997)	-
Capital	Road Town	-
Climate	subtropical; humid; temperatures moderated by trade winds	tropical marine; hot, humid, moderated by trade winds
Coastline	80 km	698 km
Constitution	1 June 1977	-
Country name	conventional long form: none conventional short form: British Virgin Islands abbreviation: BVI	conventional long form: British Indian Ocean Territory conventional short form: none abbreviation: BIOT
Currency	US dollar (USD)	-
Death rate	4.42 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)	-
Debt - external	$36.1 million (1997)	-
Dependency status	overseas territory of the UK; internal self-governing	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 territory of the UK)
Diplomatic representation in the US	none (overseas territory of the UK)	none (overseas territory of the UK)
Disputes - international	none	the Chagos Archipelago is claimed by Mauritius and Seychelles
Economic aid - recipient	NA	-
Economy - overview	The economy, one of the most stable and prosperous in the Caribbean, is highly dependent on tourism, generating an estimated 45% of the national income. An estimated 350,000 tourists, mainly from the US, visited the islands in 1998. In the mid-1980s, the government began offering offshore registration to companies wishing to incorporate in the islands, and incorporation fees now generate substantial revenues. Roughly 400,000 companies were on the offshore registry by yearend 2000. The adoption of a comprehensive insurance law in late 1994, which provides a blanket of confidentiality with regulated statutory gateways for investigation of criminal offenses, is expected to make the British Virgin Islands even more attractive to international business. Livestock raising is the most important agricultural activity; poor soils limit the islands' ability to meet domestic food requirements. Because of traditionally close links with the US Virgin Islands, the British Virgin Islands has used the dollar as its currency since 1959.	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.
Electricity - consumption	39.1 million kWh (1999)	NA kWh
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (1999)	-
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (1999)	-
Electricity - production	42 million kWh (1999)	NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by the US military
Electricity - production by source	fossil fuel: 100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999)	-
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Mount Sage 521 m	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location on Diego Garcia 15 m
Environment - current issues	limited natural fresh water resources (except for a few seasonal streams and springs on Tortola, most of the islands' water supply comes from wells and rainwater catchments)	NA
Ethnic groups	black 83%, white, Indian, Asian and mixed	-
Exchange rates	the US dollar is used	-
Executive branch	chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor Tom MACAN (since 14 October 2002) head of government: Chief Minister Ralph T. O'NEAL (since 15 May 1995) cabinet: Executive Council appointed by the governor from members of the Legislative Council elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed chief minister by the governor	chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952) head of government: Commissioner John WHITE (since NA); Administrator Louise SAVILL (since NA); note - both reside in the UK cabinet: NA elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; commissioner and administrator appointed by the monarch
Exports	$6.2 million	-
Exports - commodities	rum, fresh fish, fruits, animals; gravel, sand	-
Exports - partners	Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US	-
Fiscal year	1 April - 31 March	-
Flag description	blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Virgin Islander coat of arms centered in the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms depicts a woman flanked on either side by a vertical column of six oil lamps above a scroll bearing the Latin word VIGILATE (Be Watchful)	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	purchasing power parity - $311 million (2000 est.)	-
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 2% industry: 6% services: 92% (1996 est.)	-
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - $16,000 (2000 est.)	-
GDP - real growth rate	4.4% (2000 est.)	-
Geographic coordinates	18 30 N, 64 30 W	6 00 S, 71 30 E
Geography - note	strong ties to nearby US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico	archipelago of 2,300 islands; Diego Garcia, largest and southernmost island, occupies strategic location in central Indian Ocean; island is site of joint US-UK military facility
Highways	total: 177 km paved: 177 km unpaved: 0 km (2000)	total: NA km paved: short stretch of paved road of NA km between port and airfield on Diego Garcia unpaved: NA km
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%	-
Illicit drugs	transshipment point for South American narcotics destined for the US and Europe; large offshore financial center	-
Imports	$230 million (2000 est.)	-
Imports - commodities	building materials, automobiles, foodstuffs, machinery	-
Imports - partners	Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US	-
Independence	none (overseas territory of the UK)	-
Industrial production growth rate	4% (1985)	-
Industries	tourism, light industry, construction, rum, concrete block, offshore financial center	-
Infant mortality rate	19.55 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)	-
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	3.3% (2000)	-
International organization participation	Caricom (associate), CDB, ECLAC (associate), Interpol (subbureau), IOC, OECS (associate), UNESCO (associate)	-
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)	16 (2000)	1 (2000)
Irrigated land	NA sq km	0 sq km (1993)
Judicial branch	Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, consisting of the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal (one judge of the Supreme Court is a resident of the islands and presides over the High Court); Magistrate's Court; Juvenile Court; Court of Summary Jurisdiction	-
Labor force	4,911 (1980)	-
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA%	-
Land boundaries	0 km	0 km
Land use	arable land: 20% permanent crops: 6.67% other: 73.33% (1998 est.)	arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: NA% other: NA%
Languages	English (official)	-
Legal system	English law	the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply
Legislative branch	unicameral Legislative Council (13 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote, one member from each of 9 electoral districts, four at-large members; members serve four-year terms) elections: last held 17 May 1999 (next to be held NA 2003) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - VIP 7, CCM 1, NDP 5	-
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 75.85 years male: 74.9 years female: 76.84 years (2002 est.)	-
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 97.8% (1991 est.) male: NA% female: NA%	-
Location	Caribbean, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico	Southern Asia, archipelago in the Indian Ocean, about one-half the way from Africa to Indonesia
Map references	Central America and the Caribbean	World
Maritime claims	exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 3 NM	exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 3 NM
Merchant marine	total: 1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 70,285 GRT/6,946 DWT ships by type: passenger 1 (2002 est.)	-
Military - note	defense is the responsibility of the UK	defense is the responsibility of the UK; the US lease on Diego Garcia expires in 2016
National holiday	Territory Day, 1 July	-
Nationality	noun: British Virgin Islander(s) adjective: British Virgin Islander	-
Natural hazards	hurricanes and tropical storms (July to October)	NA
Natural resources	NEGL	coconuts, fish, sugarcane
Net migration rate	10.91 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)	-
Political parties and leaders	Concerned Citizens Movement or CCM [Ethlyn SMITH]; National Democratic Party or NDP [Orlando SMITH]; United Party or UP [Gregory MADURO]; Virgin Islands Party or VIP [Ralph T. O'NEAL]	-
Political pressure groups and leaders	NA	-
Population	21,272 (July 2002 est.)	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 around the time of the construction of UK-US military facilities; in 1995, there were approximately 1,700 UK and US military personnel and 1,500 civilian contractors living on the island of Diego Garcia
Population below poverty line	NA%	-
Population growth rate	2.16% (2002 est.)	-
Ports and harbors	Road Town	Diego Garcia
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 4, shortwave 0 (1998)	AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998)
Radios	9,000 (1997)	NA
Railways	0 km	-
Religions	Protestant 86% (Methodist 33%, Anglican 17%, Church of God 9%, Seventh-Day Adventist 6%, Baptist 4%, Jehovah's Witnesses 2%, other 2%), Roman Catholic 10%, none 2%, other 2% (1991)	-
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.17 male(s)/female total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2002 est.)	-
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal	-
Telephone system	general assessment: worldwide telephone service domestic: NA international: submarine cable to Bermuda	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)
Telephones - main lines in use	10,000 (1996)	NA
Telephones - mobile cellular	NA	-
Television broadcast stations	1 (plus one cable company) (1997)	1 (1997)
Terrain	coral islands relatively flat; volcanic islands steep, hilly	flat and low (most areas do not exceed four meters in elevation)
Total fertility rate	1.72 children born/woman (2002 est.)	-
Unemployment rate	3% (1995)	-
Waterways	none	none

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