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Compare British Virgin Islands (2008) - West Bank (2006)

Compare British Virgin Islands (2008) z West Bank (2006)

 British Virgin Islands (2008)West Bank (2006)
 British Virgin IslandsWest Bank
Administrative divisions none (overseas territory of the UK) -
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: 42.9% (male 541,110/female 515,202)


15-64 years: 53.7% (male 676,427/female 644,347)


65 years and over: 3.4% (male 35,440/female 47,966) (2006 est.)
Agriculture - products fruits, vegetables; livestock, poultry; fish olives, citrus, vegetables; beef, dairy products
Airports 3 (2007) 3 (2006)
Airports - with paved runways total: 2


914 to 1,523 m: 1


under 914 m: 1 (2007)
total: 3


2,438 to 3,047 m: 1


1,524 to 2,437 m: 1


under 914 m: 1 (2006)
Airports - with unpaved runways total: 1


914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2007)
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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: 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 about 0.9 times the size of Washington, DC slightly smaller than Delaware
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. The Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements (the DOP), signed in Washington on 13 September 1993, provided for a transitional period not exceeding five years of Palestinian interim self-government in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Under the DOP, Israel agreed to transfer certain powers and responsibilities to the Palestinian Authority (PA) as part of the interim self-governing arrangements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. A transfer of powers and responsibilities 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. The DOP provided that Israel would retain responsibility during the transitional period for external and internal security and for public order of settlements and Israeli citizens. Direct negotiations to determine the permanent status of Gaza and West Bank began in September 1999 after a three-year hiatus, but were derailed by a second intifada that broke out in September 2000. 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. Longtime Palestinian leader Yasir ARAFAT died in November 2004 and Mahmud ABBAS was elected PA President in January 2005, bringing hope of a turning point in the conflict. Israel and the PA agreed in February 2005 to the Sharm el-Sheikh Commitments, focused on security issues, in an effort to move the peace process forward. Progress has been slow because of different interpretations of the verbal agreement by the two sides.
Birth rate 14.82 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) 31.67 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Budget revenues: $204.7 million


expenditures: $180.4 million (2004)
revenues: $964 million


expenditures: $1.34 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA; note - these budget data include Gaza Strip (2004)
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)
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Climate subtropical; humid; temperatures moderated by trade winds temperate; temperature and precipitation vary with altitude, warm to hot summers, cool to mild winters
Coastline 80 km 0 km (landlocked)
Constitution 13 June 2007 -
Country name conventional long form: none


conventional short form: British Virgin Islands


abbreviation: BVI
conventional long form: none


conventional short form: West Bank
Death rate 4.42 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) 3.92 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Debt - external $36.1 million (1997) $0; note - includes Gaza Strip (2002)
Dependency status overseas territory of the UK; internal self-governing -
Diplomatic representation from the US none (overseas territory of the UK) -
Diplomatic representation in the US none (overseas territory of the UK) -
Disputes - international none 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 $NA $1.14 billion; note - includes Gaza Strip (2004 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. The West Bank - the larger of the two areas under the Palestinian Authority (PA)- has experienced a general decline in economic growth and a degradation in economic conditions made worse since the second intifadah began in September 2000. The downturn has been largely the result of the Israeli closure policies - the imposition of border closures in response to security incidents in Israel - which disrupted labor and commodity market relationships. In 2001, and even more severely in 2002, Israeli military measures in PA areas resulted in the destruction of much capital plant, the disruption of administrative structure, and widespread business closures. Including the Gaza Strip, the UN estimates that more than 100,000 Palestinians out of the 125,000 who used to work in Israeli settlements, or in joint industrial zones, have lost their jobs. International aid of $2 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.
Electricity - consumption 41.85 million kWh (2005) NA kWh
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (2005) -
Electricity - imports 0 kWh (2005) NA kWh
Electricity - production 45 million kWh (2005) 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: Caribbean Sea 0 m


highest point: Mount Sage 521 m
lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m


highest point: Tall Asur 1,022 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) adequacy of fresh water supply; sewage treatment
Ethnic groups black 83%, other 17% (includes white, Indian, Asian and mixed) Palestinian Arab and other 83%, Jewish 17%
Exchange rates the US dollar is used new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.4877 (2005), 4.482 (2004), 4.5541 (2003), 4.7378 (2002), 4.2057 (2001)
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
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Exports 0 bbl/day (2004) $270 million f.o.b.; note - includes Gaza Strip (2003)
Exports - commodities rum, fresh fish, fruits, animals; gravel, sand olives, fruit, vegetables, limestone
Exports - partners Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US (2006) Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip (2004)
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) -
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 1.8%


industry: 6.2%


services: 92% (1996 est.)
agriculture: 9%


industry: 28%


services: 63%


note: includes Gaza Strip (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 1% (2002 est.) 6.2% (2004 est.)
Geographic coordinates 18 30 N, 64 30 W 32 00 N, 35 15 E
Geography - note strong ties to nearby US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico 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%
lowest 10%: NA%


highest 10%: NA%
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) $1.952 billion c.i.f.; note - includes Gaza Strip (2003)
Imports - commodities building materials, automobiles, foodstuffs, machinery food, consumer goods, construction materials
Imports - partners Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US (2006) Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip (2004)
Independence none (overseas territory of the UK) -
Industrial production growth rate NA% NA%
Industries tourism, light industry, construction, rum, concrete block, offshore financial center 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: 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: 19.15 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 21.12 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 17.05 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2% (2005) 7% (includes Gaza Strip) (2003 est.)
International organization participation Caricom (associate), CDB, Interpol (subbureau), IOC, OECS, UNESCO (associate), UPU -
Irrigated land NA 150 sq km; note - includes Gaza Strip (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 -
Labor force 12,770 (2004) 614,000 (April-June 2005)
Labor force - by occupation agriculture: 0.6%


industry: 40%


services: 59.4% (2005)
agriculture: 18.4%


industry: 24%


services: 57.6% (April-June 2005)
Land boundaries 0 km total: 404 km


border countries: Israel 307 km, Jordan 97 km
Land use arable land: 20%


permanent crops: 6.67%


other: 73.33% (2005)
arable land: 16.9%


permanent crops: 18.97%


other: 64.13% (2001)
Languages English (official) Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians), English (widely understood)
Legal system English law -
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
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Life expectancy at birth total population: 76.86 years


male: 75.71 years


female: 78.07 years (2007 est.)
total population: 73.27 years


male: 71.5 years


female: 75.15 years (2006 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: 91.9%


male: 96.3%


female: 87.4% (2003 est.)
Location Caribbean, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico Middle East, west of Jordan
Map references Central America and the Caribbean Middle East
Maritime claims territorial sea: 3 nm


exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
none (landlocked)
Military - note defense is the responsibility of the UK -
Military expenditures - dollar figure - NA
Military expenditures - percent of GDP - NA
National holiday Territory Day, 1 July (1956) -
Nationality noun: British Virgin Islander(s)


adjective: British Virgin Islander
noun: NA


adjective: NA
Natural hazards hurricanes and tropical storms (July to October) droughts
Natural resources NEGL arable land
Net migration rate 8.83 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) 2.8 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 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 23,552 (July 2007 est.) 2,460,492


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 NA% 46% including Gaza Strip (2004 est.)
Population growth rate 1.923% (2007 est.) 3.06% (2006 est.)
Radio broadcast stations AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 0 (2004) AM 1, FM 20, shortwave 0 (2005)
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 75% (predominantly Sunni), Jewish 17%, Christian and other 8%
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: 1.06 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.74 male(s)/female


total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2006 est.)
Suffrage 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: 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
Telephones - main lines in use 11,700 (2002) 357,300 (includes Gaza Strip) (2004)
Telephones - mobile cellular 8,000 (2002) 1.095 million (includes Gaza Strip) (2005)
Television broadcast stations 1 (plus 1 cable company) (1997) 8 (2005)
Terrain coral islands relatively flat; volcanic islands steep, hilly mostly rugged dissected upland, some vegetation in west, but barren in east
Total fertility rate 1.72 children born/woman (2007 est.) 4.28 children born/woman (2006 est.)
Unemployment rate 3.6% (1997) 19.9% (includes Gaza Strip) (January-September 2005)
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