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Compare British Virgin Islands (2008) - Sierra Leone (2008)
Compare British Virgin Islands (2008) z Sierra Leone (2008)
| British Virgin Islands (2008) | Sierra Leone (2008) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | none (overseas territory of the UK) | 3 provinces and 1 area*; Eastern, Northern, Southern, Western* |
| Age structure | 0-14 years: 20.2% (male 2,410/female 2,337)
15-64 years: 74.5% (male 9,004/female 8,534) 65 years and over: 5.4% (male 665/female 602) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years: 44.8% (male 1,349,878/female 1,400,297)
15-64 years: 52% (male 1,531,763/female 1,664,996) 65 years and over: 3.2% (male 92,360/female 105,268) (2007 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | fruits, vegetables; livestock, poultry; fish | rice, coffee, cocoa, palm kernels, palm oil, peanuts; poultry, cattle, sheep, pigs; fish |
| Airports | 3 (2007) | 10 (2007) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2007) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2007) |
total: 9
914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 2 (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 islands of Tortola, Anegada, Virgin Gorda, Jost van Dyke |
total: 71,740 sq km
land: 71,620 sq km water: 120 sq km |
| Area - comparative | about 0.9 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than South Carolina |
| Background | First inhabited by Arawak and later by Carib Indians, the Virgin Islands were settled by the Dutch in 1648 and then annexed by the English in 1672. The islands were part of the British colony of the Leeward Islands from 1872-1960; they were granted autonomy in 1967. The economy is closely tied to the larger and more populous US Virgin Islands to the west; the US dollar is the legal currency. | Democracy is slowly being reestablished after the civil war from 1991 to 2002 that resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of more than 2 million people (about one-third of the population). The military, which took over full responsibility for security following the departure of UN peacekeepers at the end of 2005, is increasingly developing as a guarantor of the country's stability. The armed forces remained on the sideline during the 2007 presidential election, but still look to the UN Integrated Office in Sierra Leone (UNIOSIL) - a civilian UN mission - to support efforts to consolidate peace. The new government's priorities include furthering development, creating jobs, and stamping out endemic corruption. |
| Birth rate | 14.82 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 45.41 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $204.7 million
expenditures: $180.4 million (2004) |
revenues: $96 million
expenditures: $351 million (2000 est.) |
| Capital | name: Road Town
geographic coordinates: 18 27 N, 64 37 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
name: Freetown
geographic coordinates: 8 30 N, 13 15 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
| Climate | subtropical; humid; temperatures moderated by trade winds | tropical; hot, humid; summer rainy season (May to December); winter dry season (December to April) |
| Coastline | 80 km | 402 km |
| Constitution | 13 June 2007 | 1 October 1991; subsequently amended several times |
| Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: British Virgin Islands abbreviation: BVI |
conventional long form: Republic of Sierra Leone
conventional short form: Sierra Leone local long form: Republic of Sierra Leone local short form: Sierra Leone |
| Death rate | 4.42 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 22.64 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Debt - external | $36.1 million (1997) | $1.61 billion (2003 est.) |
| Dependency status | overseas territory of the UK; internal self-governing | - |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | chief of mission: Ambassador Thomas N. HULL
embassy: Corner of Walpole and Siaka Stevens Streets, Freetown mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [232] (22) 515 000 or [232] (76) 515 000 FAX: [232] (22) 225471 |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Hassan M. CONTECH
chancery: 1701 19th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 939-9261 through 9263 FAX: [1] (202) 483-1793 |
| Disputes - international | none | as domestic fighting among disparate ethnic groups, rebel groups, warlords, and youth gangs in Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone gradually abate, the number of refugees in border areas has begun to slowly dwindle; UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) has maintained over 4,000 peacekeepers in Sierra Leone since 1999; Sierra Leone considers excessive Guinea's definition of the flood plain limits to define the left bank boundary of the Makona and Moa rivers and protests Guinea's continued occupation of these lands including the hamlet of Yenga occupied since 1998 |
| Economic aid - recipient | $NA | $343.4 million (2005 est.) |
| 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 820,000 tourists, mainly from the US, visited the islands in 2005. 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, made 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 US dollar as its currency since 1959. | Sierra Leone is an extremely poor nation with tremendous inequality in income distribution. While it possesses substantial mineral, agricultural, and fishery resources, its physical and social infrastructure is not well developed, and serious social disorders continue to hamper economic development. Nearly half of the working-age population engages in subsistence agriculture. Manufacturing consists mainly of the processing of raw materials and of light manufacturing for the domestic market. Alluvial diamond mining remains the major source of hard currency earnings accounting for nearly half of Sierra Leone's exports. The fate of the economy depends upon the maintenance of domestic peace and the continued receipt of substantial aid from abroad, which is essential to offset the severe trade imbalance and supplement government revenues. The IMF has completed a Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility program that helped stabilize economic growth and reduce inflation. A recent increase in political stability has led to a revival of economic activity such as the rehabilitation of bauxite and rutile mining. |
| Electricity - consumption | 41.85 million kWh (2005) | 227.9 million kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - production | 45 million kWh (2005) | 245 million kWh (2005) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Sage 521 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Loma Mansa (Bintimani) 1,948 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) | rapid population growth pressuring the environment; overharvesting of timber, expansion of cattle grazing, and slash-and-burn agriculture have resulted in deforestation and soil exhaustion; civil war depleted natural resources; overfishing |
| Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
| Ethnic groups | black 83%, other 17% (includes white, Indian, Asian and mixed) | 20 African ethnic groups 90% (Temne 30%, Mende 30%, other 30%), Creole (Krio) 10% (descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area in the late-18th century), refugees from Liberia's recent civil war, small numbers of Europeans, Lebanese, Pakistanis, and Indians |
| Exchange rates | the US dollar is used | leones per US dollar - NA (2007), 2,961.7 (2006), 2,889.6 (2005), 2,701.3 (2004), 2,347.9 (2003) |
| Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor David PEAREY (since 18 April 2006)
head of government: Premier Ralph T. O'NEAL (since 23 August 2007) cabinet: Executive Council appointed by the governor from members of the House of Assembly 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 premier by the governor |
chief of state: President Ernest Bai KOROMA (since 17 September 2007); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Ernest Bai KOROMA (since 17 September 2007) cabinet: Ministers of State appointed by the president with the approval of the House of Representatives; the cabinet is responsible to the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 11 August 2007 and 8 September 2007 (next to be held in 2012) election results: second round results; percent of vote - Ernest Bai KOROMA 54.6%, Solomon BEREWA 45.4% |
| Exports | 0 bbl/day (2004) | 431.1 bbl/day (2004) |
| Exports - commodities | rum, fresh fish, fruits, animals; gravel, sand | diamonds, rutile, cocoa, coffee, fish |
| Exports - partners | Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US (2006) | Belgium 52.1%, US 19.1%, Netherlands 6.8% (2006) |
| Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
| 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) | three equal horizontal bands of light green (top), white, and light blue |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 1.8%
industry: 6.2% services: 92% (1996 est.) |
agriculture: 49%
industry: 31% services: 21% (2001 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 1% (2002 est.) | 6.8% (2007 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 18 30 N, 64 30 W | 8 30 N, 11 30 W |
| Geography - note | strong ties to nearby US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico | rainfall along the coast can reach 495 cm (195 inches) a year, making it one of the wettest places along coastal, western Africa |
| Heliports | - | 2 (2007) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 0.5%
highest 10%: 43.6% (1989) |
| Illicit drugs | transshipment point for South American narcotics destined for the US and Europe; large offshore financial center makes it vulnerable to money laundering | - |
| Imports | 604.3 bbl/day (2004) | 8,864 bbl/day (2004) |
| Imports - commodities | building materials, automobiles, foodstuffs, machinery | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels and lubricants, chemicals |
| Imports - partners | Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US (2006) | Cote d'Ivoire 9.3%, US 7.7%, China 7.7%, Brazil 6.9%, UK 6.7%, Netherlands 5.5%, South Africa 4.5%, India 4.3%, France 4.2% (2006) |
| Independence | none (overseas territory of the UK) | 27 April 1961 (from UK) |
| Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA% |
| Industries | tourism, light industry, construction, rum, concrete block, offshore financial center | diamond mining; small-scale manufacturing (beverages, textiles, cigarettes, footwear); petroleum refining, small commercial ship repair |
| Infant mortality rate | total: 16.13 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 18.82 deaths/1,000 live births female: 13.29 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
total: 158.27 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 175.39 deaths/1,000 live births female: 140.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2% (2005) | 1% (2002 est.) |
| International organization participation | Caricom (associate), CDB, Interpol (subbureau), IOC, OECS, UNESCO (associate), UPU | ACP, AfDB, AU, C, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIT, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
| Irrigated land | NA | 300 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 | Supreme Court; Appeals Court; High Court |
| Labor force | 12,770 (2004) | 1.369 million (1981 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 0.6%
industry: 40% services: 59.4% (2005) |
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
| Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 958 km
border countries: Guinea 652 km, Liberia 306 km |
| Land use | arable land: 20%
permanent crops: 6.67% other: 73.33% (2005) |
arable land: 7.95%
permanent crops: 1.05% other: 91% (2005) |
| Languages | English (official) | English (official, regular use limited to literate minority), Mende (principal vernacular in the south), Temne (principal vernacular in the north), Krio (English-based Creole, spoken by the descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area, a lingua franca and a first language for 10% of the population but understood by 95%) |
| Legal system | English law | based on English law and customary laws indigenous to local tribes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
| Legislative branch | unicameral House of Assembly (13 elected seats and 1 non-voting ex officio member in the attorney general; members are elected by direct popular vote, 1 member from each of nine electoral districts, 4 at-large members; to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 20 August 2007 (next to be held in 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - VIP 45.2%, NDP 39.6%, independent 15.2%; seats by party - VIP 10, NDP 2, independent 1 |
unicameral Parliament (124 seats; 112 members elected by popular vote, 12 filled by paramount chiefs elected in separate elections; to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held on 11 August 2007 (next to be held in 2012) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - APC 59, SLPP 43, PMDC 10 |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 76.86 years
male: 75.71 years female: 78.07 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 40.58 years
male: 38.36 years female: 42.87 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 English, Mende, Temne, or Arabic
total population: 35.1% male: 46.9% female: 24.4% (2004 est.) |
| Location | Caribbean, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Liberia |
| Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Africa |
| 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 |
| Merchant marine | - | total: 113 ships (1000 GRT or over) 314,549 GRT/419,409 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 1, cargo 85, chemical tanker 4, combination ore/oil 1, container 4, liquefied gas 1, livestock carrier 1, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 4, petroleum tanker 7, roll on/roll off 4 foreign-owned: 47 (Belgium 1, China 8, Greece 1, Romania 2, Russia 5, Syria 8, Turkey 7, Ukraine 8, UAE 7) (2007) |
| Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the UK | - |
| Military branches | - | Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF): Army (includes Air Wing, Navy (Maritime Wing)) (2007) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 2.3% (2006) |
| National holiday | Territory Day, 1 July (1956) | Independence Day, 27 April (1961) |
| Nationality | noun: British Virgin Islander(s)
adjective: British Virgin Islander |
noun: Sierra Leonean(s)
adjective: Sierra Leonean |
| Natural hazards | hurricanes and tropical storms (July to October) | dry, sand-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to February); sandstorms, dust storms |
| Natural resources | NEGL | diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold, chromite |
| Net migration rate | 8.83 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 0.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: refugees currently in surrounding countries are slowly returning (2007 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] | All People's Congress or APC [Ernest Bai KOROMA]; Peace and Liberation Party or PLP [Darlington MORRISON]; People's Movement for Democratic Change or PMDC [Charles MARGAI]; Sierra Leone People's Party or SLPP [Solomon BEREWA]; numerous others |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | trade unions and student unions |
| Population | 23,552 (July 2007 est.) | 6,144,562 (July 2007 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | NA% | 70.2% (2004) |
| Population growth rate | 1.923% (2007 est.) | 2.292% (2007 est.) |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 0 (2004) | AM 1, FM 9, shortwave 1 (2001) |
| 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%, other 2%, none 2% (1991) | Muslim 60%, Christian 10%, indigenous beliefs 30% |
| Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.031 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.055 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.105 male(s)/female total population: 1.053 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 0.964 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.877 male(s)/female total population: 0.938 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
| Telephone system | general assessment: worldwide telephone service
domestic: NA international: country code - 1-284; connected via submarine cable to Bermuda; the East Caribbean Fiber System (ECFS) optic submarine cable provides connectivity to 13 other islands in the eastern Caribbean (2007) |
general assessment: marginal telephone service
domestic: the national microwave radio relay trunk system connects Freetown to Bo and Kenema international: country code - 232; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2000) |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 11,700 (2002) | 24,000 (2002) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 8,000 (2002) | 113,200 (2003) |
| Television broadcast stations | 1 (plus 1 cable company) (1997) | 2 (1999) |
| Terrain | coral islands relatively flat; volcanic islands steep, hilly | coastal belt of mangrove swamps, wooded hill country, upland plateau, mountains in east |
| Total fertility rate | 1.72 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 6.01 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 3.6% (1997) | NA% |
| Waterways | - | 800 km (600 km year round) (2005) |
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