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Compare British Virgin Islands (2004) - Australia (2007)
Compare British Virgin Islands (2004) z Australia (2007)
| British Virgin Islands (2004) | Australia (2007) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | none (overseas territory of the UK) | 6 states and 2 territories*; Australian Capital Territory*, New South Wales, Northern Territory*, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia |
| Age structure | 0-14 years: 21.5% (male 2,402; female 2,361)
15-64 years: 73.5% (male 8,395; female 7,911) 65 years and over: 5% (male 594; female 524) (2004 est.) |
0-14 years: 19.3% (male 2,023,375/female 1,929,229)
15-64 years: 67.4% (male 6,945,068/female 6,831,653) 65 years and over: 13.2% (male 1,197,494/female 1,507,357) (2007 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | fruits, vegetables; livestock, poultry; fish | wheat, barley, sugarcane, fruits, cattle, sheep, poultry |
| Airports | 3 (2003 est.) | 461 (2007) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 317
over 3,047 m: 11 2,438 to 3,047 m: 12 1,524 to 2,437 m: 138 914 to 1,523 m: 143 under 914 m: 13 (2007) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 144
1,524 to 2,437 m: 19 914 to 1,523 m: 109 under 914 m: 16 (2007) |
| 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: 7,686,850 sq km
land: 7,617,930 sq km water: 68,920 sq km note: includes Lord Howe Island and Macquarie Island |
| Area - comparative | about 0.9 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than the US contiguous 48 states |
| 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. | Aboriginal settlers arrived on the continent from Southeast Asia about 40,000 years before the first Europeans began exploration in the 17th century. No formal territorial claims were made until 1770, when Capt. James COOK took possession in the name of Great Britain. Six colonies were created in the late 18th and 19th centuries; they federated and became the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901. The new country took advantage of its natural resources to rapidly develop agricultural and manufacturing industries and to make a major contribution to the British effort in World Wars I and II. In recent decades, Australia has transformed itself into an internationally competitive, advanced market economy. It boasted one of the OECD's fastest growing economies during the 1990s, a performance due in large part to economic reforms adopted in the 1980s. Long-term concerns include pollution, particularly depletion of the ozone layer, and management and conservation of coastal areas, especially the Great Barrier Reef. |
| Birth rate | 14.96 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 12.02 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $121.5 million
expenditures: $115.5 million, including capital expenditures of NA (1997) |
revenues: $268.2 billion
expenditures: $257.3 billion (2006 est.) |
| Capital | Road Town | name: Canberra
geographic coordinates: 35 17 S, 149 13 E time difference: UTC+10 (15 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in October; ends last Sunday in March note: Australia is divided into three time zones |
| Climate | subtropical; humid; temperatures moderated by trade winds | generally arid to semiarid; temperate in south and east; tropical in north |
| Coastline | 80 km | 25,760 km |
| Constitution | 1 June 1977 | 9 July 1900, effective 1 January 1901 |
| Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: British Virgin Islands abbreviation: BVI |
conventional long form: Commonwealth of Australia
conventional short form: Australia |
| Currency | US dollar (USD) | - |
| Death rate | 4.42 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 7.56 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Debt - external | $36.1 million (1997) | $628.1 billion (2006 est.) |
| Dependency status | overseas territory of the UK; internal self-governing | - |
| Dependent areas | - | Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Coral Sea Islands, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Norfolk Island, Macquarie Island |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | chief of mission: Ambassador Robert D. McCALLUM, Jr.
embassy: Moonah Place, Yarralumla, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 2600 mailing address: APO AP 96549 telephone: [61] (02) 6214-5600 FAX: [61] (02) 6214-5970 consulate(s) general: Melbourne, Perth, Sydney |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | chief of mission: Ambassador Dennis J. RICHARDSON
chancery: 1601 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 797-3000 FAX: [1] (202) 797-3168 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Chicago, Honolulu, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco |
| Disputes - international | none | Timor-Leste and Australia agreed in 2005 to defer the disputed portion of the boundary for fifty years and to split hydrocarbon revenues evenly outside the Joint Petroleum Development Area covered by the 2002 Timor Sea Treaty; East Timor dispute hampers creation of a revised maritime boundary with Indonesia in the Timor Sea; Indonesian groups challenge Australia's claim to Ashmore and Cartier Islands; Australia closed parts of the Ashmore and Cartier Reserve to Indonesian traditional fishing and placed restrictions on certain catch; regional states continue to express concern over Australia's 2004 declaration of a 1,000-nautical mile-wide maritime identification zone; Australia asserts land and maritime claims to Antarctica (see Antarctica); in 2004 Australia submitted its claims to UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) to extend its continental margins covering over 3.37 million square kilometers or roughly thirty percent of its claimed exclusive economic zone; since 2003, Australian Defense Force leads the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI) to maintain civil and political order and reinforce regional security |
| Economic aid - donor | - | ODA, $894 million (FY99/00) |
| 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. Tourism suffered in 2002 because of the lackluster US economy. 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. | Australia has an enviable Western-style capitalist economy with a per capita GDP on par with the four dominant West European economies. Robust business and consumer confidence and high export prices for raw materials and agricultural products are fueling the economy. Australia's emphasis on reforms, low inflation, and growing ties with China are other key factors behind the economy's strength. Drought and strong import demand pushed the trade deficit up in recent years, although the trade balance improved in 2006. Housing prices probably peaked in 2005, diminishing the prospect that interest rates would be raised to prevent a speculative bubble. Conservative fiscal policies have kept Australia's budget in surplus since 2002. |
| Electricity - consumption | 35.43 million kWh (2001) | 219.8 billion kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - production | 38.1 million kWh (2001) | 236.7 billion kWh (2005) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Sage 521 m |
lowest point: Lake Eyre -15 m
highest point: Mount Kosciuszko 2,229 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) | soil erosion from overgrazing, industrial development, urbanization, and poor farming practices; soil salinity rising due to the use of poor quality water; desertification; clearing for agricultural purposes threatens the natural habitat of many unique animal and plant species; the Great Barrier Reef off the northeast coast, the largest coral reef in the world, is threatened by increased shipping and its popularity as a tourist site; limited natural fresh water resources |
| Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
| Ethnic groups | black 83%, white, Indian, Asian and mixed | white 92%, Asian 7%, aboriginal and other 1% |
| Exchange rates | the US dollar is used | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3285 (2006), 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002) |
| 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 Orlando D. SMITH (since 17 June 2003) 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 of Australia ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor General Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Michael JEFFERY (since 11 August 2003)
head of government: Prime Minister Kevin RUDD (since 3 December 2007); Deputy Prime Minister Julia GILLARD (since 3 December 2007) cabinet: prime minister nominates, from among members of Parliament, candidates who are subsequently sworn in by the governor general to serve as government ministers 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 leader of a majority coalition is sworn in as prime minister by the governor general |
| Exports | NA (2001) | 333,200 bbl/day (2004) |
| Exports - commodities | rum, fresh fish, fruits, animals; gravel, sand | coal, gold, meat, wool, alumina, iron ore, wheat, machinery and transport equipment |
| Exports - partners | Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US | Japan 19.6%, China 12.3%, South Korea 7.5%, US 6.2%, India 5.5%, NZ 5.5%, UK 5% (2006) |
| Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | 1 July - 30 June |
| 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) | blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and a large seven-pointed star in the lower hoist-side quadrant known as the Commonwealth or Federation Star, representing the federation of the colonies of Australia in 1901; the star depicts one point for each of the six original states and one representing all of Australia's internal and external territories; on the fly half is a representation of the Southern Cross constellation in white with one small five-pointed star and four larger, seven-pointed stars |
| GDP | purchasing power parity - $320 million (2002 est.) | - |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 1.8%
industry: 6.2% services: 92% (1996 est.) |
agriculture: 3.7%
industry: 26.2% services: 70.1% (2006 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $16,000 (2002 est.) | - |
| GDP - real growth rate | 1% (2002 est.) | 2.7% (2006 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 18 30 N, 64 30 W | 27 00 S, 133 00 E |
| Geography - note | strong ties to nearby US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico | world's smallest continent but sixth-largest country; population concentrated along the eastern and southeastern coasts; the invigorating sea breeze known as the "Fremantle Doctor" affects the city of Perth on the west coast, and is one of the most consistent winds in the world |
| Heliports | - | 1 (2007) |
| Highways | total: 177 km
paved: 177 km unpaved: 0 km (2000) |
- |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 25.4% (1994) |
| Illicit drugs | transshipment point for South American narcotics destined for the US and Europe; large offshore financial center makes it vulnerable to money laundering | Tasmania is one of the world's major suppliers of licit opiate products; government maintains strict controls over areas of opium poppy cultivation and output of poppy straw concentrate; major consumer of cocaine and amphetamines |
| Imports | NA (2001) | 611,400 bbl/day (2004) |
| Imports - commodities | building materials, automobiles, foodstuffs, machinery | machinery and transport equipment, computers and office machines, telecommunication equipment and parts; crude oil and petroleum products |
| Imports - partners | Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US | China 14.4%, US 14.1%, Japan 9.6%, Singapore 6%, Germany 5.1% (2006) |
| Independence | none (overseas territory of the UK) | 1 January 1901 (federation of UK colonies) |
| Industrial production growth rate | NA | -3.5% (2006 est.) |
| Industries | tourism, light industry, construction, rum, concrete block, offshore financial center | mining, industrial and transportation equipment, food processing, chemicals, steel |
| Infant mortality rate | total: 18.05 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 21.02 deaths/1,000 live births female: 14.95 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
total: 4.57 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 4.95 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.16 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.5% (2002) | 3.5% (2006 est.) |
| International organization participation | Caricom (associate), CDB, Interpol (subbureau), IOC, OECS (associate), UNESCO (associate), UPU | ANZUS, APEC, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, C, CP, EAS, EBRD, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OECD, OPCW, Paris Club, PCA, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNMIS, UNRWA, UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC |
| Irrigated land | NA sq km | 25,450 sq km (2003) |
| 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 | High Court (the chief justice and six other justices are appointed by the governor general) |
| Labor force | 4,911 (1980) | 10.74 million (2006 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture NA, industry NA, services NA | agriculture: 3.6%
industry: 21.2% services: 75.2% (2004 est.) |
| Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
| Land use | arable land: 20%
permanent crops: 6.67% other: 73.33% (2001) |
arable land: 6.15% (includes about 27 million hectares of cultivated grassland)
permanent crops: 0.04% other: 93.81% (2005) |
| Languages | English (official) | English 79.1%, Chinese 2.1%, Italian 1.9%, other 11.1%, unspecified 5.8% (2001 Census) |
| Legal system | English law | based on English common law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
| 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 16 May 2003 (next to be held NA 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NDP 8, VIP 5 |
bicameral Federal Parliament consists of the Senate (76 seats; 12 members from each of the six states and 2 from each of the two mainland territories; one-half of state members are elected every three years by popular vote to serve six-year terms while all territory members are elected every three years) and the House of Representatives (150 seats; members elected by popular preferential vote to serve terms of up to three-years; no state can have fewer than 5 representatives)
elections: Senate - last held 24 November 2007 (next to be held no later than 2010); House of Representatives - last held 24 November 2007 (next to be called no later than 2010) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Liberal Party-National Party coalition 37, Australian Labor Party 32, Australian Greens 5, Family First Party 1, other 1; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Australian Labor Party 80, Liberal Party 50, National Party 10, independents 2, undecided 8 |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 76.27 years
male: 75.24 years female: 77.36 years (2004 est.) |
total population: 80.62 years
male: 77.75 years female: 83.63 years (2007 est.) |
| Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97.8% (1991 est.) male: NA female: NA |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (2003 est.) |
| Location | Caribbean, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico | Oceania, continent between the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean |
| Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Oceania |
| 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 the edge of the continental margin |
| Merchant marine | total: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 83,825 GRT/155,909 DWT
by type: cargo 1, liquefied gas 1, petroleum tanker 1 foreign-owned: Norway 1 registered in other countries: 32 (2004 est.) |
total: 52 ships (1000 GRT or over) 1,322,527 GRT/1,501,865 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 16, cargo 5, chemical tanker 1, container 1, liquefied gas 4, passenger 7, passenger/cargo 6, petroleum tanker 7, roll on/roll off 5 foreign-owned: 16 (Canada 2, France 1, Germany 2, Netherlands 2, Norway 1, Philippines 1, UK 2, US 5) registered in other countries: 29 (Antigua and Barbuda 1, Bahamas 3, Bermuda 4, Fiji 1, The Gambia 1, Liberia 2, Marshall Islands 1, Panama 4, Singapore 6, Tonga 1, UK 1, US 2, Vanuatu 2, unknown 1) (2007) |
| Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the UK | - |
| Military branches | - | Australian Defense Force (ADF): Australian Army, Royal Australian Navy, Royal Australian Air Force, Special Operations Command (2006) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 2.4% (2006) |
| National holiday | Territory Day, 1 July | Australia Day, 26 January (1788); ANZAC Day (commemorated as the anniversary of the landing of troops of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps during World War I at Gallipoli, Turkey), 25 April (1915) |
| Nationality | noun: British Virgin Islander(s)
adjective: British Virgin Islander |
noun: Australian(s)
adjective: Australian |
| Natural hazards | hurricanes and tropical storms (July to October) | cyclones along the coast; severe droughts; forest fires |
| Natural resources | NEGL | bauxite, coal, iron ore, copper, tin, gold, silver, uranium, nickel, tungsten, mineral sands, lead, zinc, diamonds, natural gas, petroleum |
| Net migration rate | 10.01 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 3.78 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Pipelines | - | condensate/gas 546 km; gas 31,323 km; liquid petroleum gas 240 km; oil 4,808 km; oil/gas/water 110 km (2006) |
| 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] | Australian Democrats [Lyn ALLISON]; Australian Greens [Bob BROWN]; Australian Labor Party [Kevin RUDD]; Country Liberal Party [Jodeen CARNEY]; Family First Party [Steve FIELDING]; Liberal Party [Brendan NELSON]; The Nationals [Warren TRUSS] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | - |
| Population | 22,187 (July 2004 est.) | 20,434,176 (July 2007 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | NA | NA% |
| Population growth rate | 2.06% (2004 est.) | 0.824% (2007 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Road Town | - |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 4, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 262, FM 345, shortwave 1 (1998) |
| Railways | - | total: 38,550 km
broad gauge: 3,727 km 1.600-m gauge standard gauge: 20,519 km 1.435-m gauge (1,877 km electrified) narrow gauge: 14,074 km 1.067-m gauge (2,453 km electrified) dual gauge: 230 km dual gauge (2006) |
| Religions | Protestant 86% (Methodist 33%, Anglican 17%, Church of God 9%, Seventh-Day Adventist 6%, Baptist 4%, Jehovah's Witnesses 2%, other 15%), Roman Catholic 10%, none 2%, other 2% (1991) | Catholic 26.4%, Anglican 20.5%, other Christian 20.5%, Buddhist 1.9%, Muslim 1.5%, other 1.2%, unspecified 12.7%, none 15.3% (2001 Census) |
| Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.13 male(s)/female total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.049 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.017 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.794 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory |
| Telephone system | general assessment: worldwide telephone service
domestic: NA international: country code - 1-284; submarine cable to Bermuda |
general assessment: excellent domestic and international service
domestic: domestic satellite system; much use of radiotelephone in areas of low population density; rapid growth of mobile cellular telephones international: country code - 61; landing point for the SEA-ME-WE-3 optical telecommunications submarine cable with links to Asia, the Middle East, and Europe; the Southern Cross fiber optic submarine cable provides links to New Zealand and the United States; satellite earth stations - 19 (10 Intelsat - 4 Indian Ocean and 6 Pacific Ocean, 2 Inmarsat - Indian and Pacific Ocean regions, 2 Globalstar, 5 other) (2007) |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 11,700 (2002) | 9.94 million (2006) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 8,000 (2002) | 19.76 million (2006) |
| Television broadcast stations | 1 (plus one cable company) (1997) | 104 (1997) |
| Terrain | coral islands relatively flat; volcanic islands steep, hilly | mostly low plateau with deserts; fertile plain in southeast |
| Total fertility rate | 1.72 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 1.76 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 3% (1995) | 4.9% (2006 est.) |
| Waterways | - | 2,000 km (mainly used for recreation on Murray and Murray-Darling river systems) (2006) |
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