Compare Christmas Island (2007) - British Virgin Islands (2005)

Compare Christmas Island (2007) z British Virgin Islands (2005)

	Christmas Island (2007)	British Virgin Islands (2005)

Administrative divisions	none (territory of Australia)	none (overseas territory of the UK)
Age structure	0-14 years: NA 15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA	0-14 years: 21% (male 2,400/female 2,358) 15-64 years: 73.9% (male 8,607/female 8,115) 65 years and over: 5.1% (male 614/female 549) (2005 est.)
Agriculture - products	NA	fruits, vegetables; livestock, poultry; fish
Airports	1 (2007)	3 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007)	total: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways	-	total: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2004 est.)
Area	total: 135 sq km land: 135 sq km water: 0 sq km	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
Area - comparative	about three-quarters the size of Washington, DC	about 0.9 times the size of Washington, DC
Background	Named in 1643 for the day of its discovery, the island was annexed and settlement began by the UK in 1888. Phosphate mining began in the 1890s. The UK transferred sovereignty to Australia in 1958. Almost two-thirds of the island has been declared a national park.	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.
Birth rate	NA	14.96 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Budget	revenues: $NA expenditures: $NA	revenues: $121.5 million expenditures: $115.5 million, including capital expenditures of NA (1997)
Capital	name: The Settlement geographic coordinates: 10 25 S, 105 43 E time difference: UTC+7 (12 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)	Road Town
Climate	tropical with a wet season (December to April) and dry season; heat and humidity moderated by trade winds	subtropical; humid; temperatures moderated by trade winds
Coastline	138.9 km	80 km
Constitution	Christmas Island Act of 1958-59 (1 October 1958) as amended by the Territories Law Reform Act of 1992	1 June 1977
Country name	conventional long form: Territory of Christmas Island conventional short form: Christmas Island	conventional long form: none conventional short form: British Virgin Islands abbreviation: BVI
Death rate	NA	4.42 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Debt - external	-	$36.1 million (1997)
Dependency status	non-self governing territory of Australia; administered from Canberra by the Australian Department of Transport and Regional Services	overseas territory of the UK; internal self-governing
Diplomatic representation from the US	none (territory of Australia)	none (overseas territory of the UK)
Diplomatic representation in the US	none (territory of Australia)	none (overseas territory of the UK)
Disputes - international	none	none
Economic aid - recipient	$NA	NA
Economy - overview	Phosphate mining had been the only significant economic activity, but in December 1987 the Australian Government closed the mine. In 1991, the mine was reopened. With the support of the government, a $34 million casino opened in 1993, but closed in 1998. The Australian Government in 2001 agreed to support the creation of a commercial space-launching site on the island, expected to begin operations in the near future.	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.
Electricity - consumption	-	33.74 million kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports	-	0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports	-	0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - production	-	36.28 million kWh (2002)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Murray Hill 361 m	lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Mount Sage 521 m
Environment - current issues	loss of rainforest; impact of phosphate mining	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)
Ethnic groups	Chinese 70%, European 20%, Malay 10% note: no indigenous population (2001)	black 83%, white, Indian, Asian and mixed
Exchange rates	Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3285 (2006), 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002)	the US dollar is used
Executive branch	chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by the Australian governor general head of government: Administrator Neil LUCAS (since 30 January 2006) elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; administrator appointed by the governor general of Australia and represents the monarch and Australia	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
Exports	$NA	NA
Exports - commodities	phosphate	rum, fresh fish, fruits, animals; gravel, sand
Exports - partners	Australia, NZ (2006)	Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US
Fiscal year	1 July - 30 June	1 April - 31 March
Flag description	territorial flag; divided diagonally from upper hoist to lower fly; the upper triangle is green with a yellow image of the Golden Bosun Bird superimposed, while the lower triangle is blue with the Southern Cross constellation, representing Australia, superimposed; a centered yellow disk displays a green map of the island; the flag of Australia is used for official purposes	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.)
GDP - per capita	-	purchasing power parity - $38,500 (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	-	1% (2002 est.)
Geographic coordinates	10 30 S, 105 40 E	18 30 N, 64 30 W
Geography - note	located along major sea lanes of Indian Ocean	strong ties to nearby US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico
Highways	-	total: 177 km paved: 177 km unpaved: 0 km (2000)
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 makes it vulnerable to money laundering
Imports	$NA	NA
Imports - commodities	consumer goods	building materials, automobiles, foodstuffs, machinery
Imports - partners	principally Australia (2006)	Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US
Independence	none (territory of Australia)	none (overseas territory of the UK)
Industrial production growth rate	-	NA%
Industries	tourism, phosphate extraction (near depletion)	tourism, light industry, construction, rum, concrete block, offshore financial center
Infant mortality rate	total: NA male: NA female: NA	total: 18.05 deaths/1,000 live births male: 21.02 deaths/1,000 live births female: 14.95 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	-	2.5% (2003)
International organization participation	none	Caricom (associate), CDB, Interpol (subbureau), IOC, OECS (associate), UNESCO (associate), UPU
Irrigated land	NA	NA
Judicial branch	Supreme Court; District Court; Magistrate's Court	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	NA	12,770 (2004)
Labor force - by occupation	-	agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA%
Land boundaries	0 km	0 km
Land use	arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (mainly tropical rainforest; 63% of the island is a national park) (2005)	arable land: 20% permanent crops: 6.67% other: 73.33% (2001)
Languages	English (official), Chinese, Malay	English (official)
Legal system	under the authority of the governor general of Australia and Australian law	English law
Legislative branch	unicameral Christmas Island Shire Council (9 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: held every two years with half the members standing for election; last held 20 October 2007 (next to be held in 2009) election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - independents 9	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
Life expectancy at birth	total population: NA male: NA female: NA	total population: 76.49 years male: 75.41 years female: 77.62 years (2005 est.)
Literacy	NA	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 97.8% (1991 est.) male: NA% female: NA%
Location	Southeastern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of Indonesia	Caribbean, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico
Map references	Southeast Asia	Central America and the Caribbean
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 12 nm exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm	territorial sea: 3 nm exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
Merchant marine	-	total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 83,825 GRT/155,909 DWT by type: cargo 1 registered in other countries: 7 (2005)
Military - note	defense is the responsibility of Australia	defense is the responsibility of the UK
National holiday	Australia Day, 26 January (1788)	Territory Day, 1 July
Nationality	noun: Christmas Islander(s) adjective: Christmas Island	noun: British Virgin Islander(s) adjective: British Virgin Islander
Natural hazards	the narrow fringing reef surrounding the island can be a maritime hazard	hurricanes and tropical storms (July to October)
Natural resources	phosphate, beaches	NEGL
Net migration rate	NA	10.01 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Political parties and leaders	none	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	none	NA
Population	1,402 (July 2006 est.) (July 2007 est.)	22,643 (July 2005 est.)
Population below poverty line	-	NA
Population growth rate	0% (2007 est.)	2.06% (2005 est.)
Ports and harbors	-	Road Town
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (2006)	AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 0 (2004)
Religions	Buddhist 36%, Muslim 25%, Christian 18%, other 21% (1997)	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)
Sex ratio	NA	at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.12 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
Suffrage	-	18 years of age; universal
Telephone system	general assessment: service provided by the Australian network domestic: GSM mobile telephone service replaced older analog system in February 2005 international: country code - 61-8; satellite earth stations - 1 INTELSAT earth station provides telephone and telex service (2005)	general assessment: worldwide telephone service domestic: NA international: country code - 1-284; submarine cable to Bermuda
Telephones - main lines in use	NA	11,700 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular	-	8,000 (2002)
Television broadcast stations	0 (TV broadcasts received via satellite from mainland Australia) (2006)	1 (plus one cable company) (1997)
Terrain	steep cliffs along coast rise abruptly to central plateau	coral islands relatively flat; volcanic islands steep, hilly
Total fertility rate	NA	1.72 children born/woman (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate	-	3% (1995)

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